Genome-wide association analysis of fleece traits in Northwest Xizang white cashmere goat.

Northwest Xizang White Cashmere Goat (NXWCG) is the first new breed of cashmere goat in the Xizang Autonomous Region. It has significant characteristics of extremely high fineness, gloss, and softness. Genome-wide association analysis is an effective biological method used to measure the consistency and correlation of genotype changes between two molecular markers in the genome. In addition, it can screen out the key genes affecting the complex traits of biological individuals. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic mechanism of cashmere trait variation in NXWCG and to discover SNP locus and key genes closely related to traits such as superfine cashmere. Additionally, the key genes near the obtained significant SNPs were analyzed by gene function annotation and biological function mining. In this study, the phenotype data of the four traits (cashmere length, fiber length, cashmere diameter, and cashmere production) were collected. GGP_Goat_70K SNP chip was used for genotyping the ear tissue DNA of the experimental group. Subsequently, the association of phenotype data and genotype data was performed using Gemma-0.98.1 software. A linear mixed model was used for the association study. The results showed that four fleece traits were associated with 18 significant SNPs at the genome level and 232 SNPs at the chromosome level, through gene annotated from Capra hircus genome using assembly ARS1. A total of 107 candidate genes related to fleece traits were obtained. Combined with Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis, we can find that CLNS1A, CCSER1, RPS6KC1, PRLR, KCNRG, KCNK9, and CLYBL can be used as important candidate genes for fleece traits of NXWCG. We used Sanger sequencing and suitability chi-square test to further verify the significant loci and candidate genes screened by GWAS, and the results show that the base mutations loci on the five candidate genes, CCSER1 (snp12579, 34,449,796, A → G), RPS6KC1 (snp41503, 69,173,527, A → G), KCNRG (snp41082, 67,134,820, G → A), KCNK9 (14:78472665, 78,472,665, G → A), and CLYBL (12: 9705753, 9,705,753, C → T), significantly affect the fleece traits of NXWCG. The results provide a valuable basis for future research and contribute to a better understanding of the genetic structure variation of the goat.

Accuracy of Genomic prediction for fleece traits in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats.

The fleece traits are important economic traits of goats. With the reduction of sequencing and genotyping cost and the improvement of related technologies, genomic selection for goats has become possible. The research collect pedigree, phenotype and genotype information of 2299 Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats (IMCGs) individuals. We estimate fixed effects, and compare the estimates of variance components, heritability and genomic predictive ability of fleece traits in IMCGs when using the pedigree based Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (ABLUP), Genomic BLUP (GBLUP) or single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP). The fleece traits considered are cashmere production (CP), cashmere diameter (CD), cashmere length (CL) and fiber length (FL). It was found that year of production, sex, herd and individual ages had highly significant effects on the four fleece traits (P < 0.01). All of these factors should be considered when the genetic parameters of fleece traits in IMCGs are evaluated. The heritabilities of FL, CL, CP and CD with ABLUP, GBLUP and ssGBLUP methods were 0.26 ~ 0.31, 0.05 ~ 0.08, 0.15 ~ 0.20 and 0.22 ~ 0.28, respectively. Therefore, it can be inferred that the genetic progress of CL is relatively slow. The predictive ability of fleece traits in IMCGs with GBLUP (56.18% to 69.06%) and ssGBLUP methods (66.82% to 73.70%) was significantly higher than that of ABLUP (36.73% to 41.25%). For the ssGBLUP method is significantly (29% ~ 33%) higher than that with ABLUP, and which is slightly (4% ~ 14%) higher than that of GBLUP. The ssGBLUP will be as an superiors method for using genomic selection of fleece traits in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats.

Impacts of reference population size and methods on the accuracy of genomic prediction for fleece traits in Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goats.

Introduction: Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goats (IMCGs) are famous for its cashmere quality and it's a unique genetic resource in China. Therefore, it is necessary to use genomic selection to improve the accuracy of selection for fleece traits in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of methods (GBLUP, BayesA, BayesB, Bayesian LASSO, Bayesian Ridge Region) and the reference population size on accuracy of genomic selection in IMCGs. Methods: This study fully utilizes the pedigree and phenotype records of fleece traits in 2255 individuals, genotype of 50794 SNPs after quality control, and environmental data to perform genomic selection of fleece traits. Then GBLUP and Bayes series methods (BayesA, BayesB, Bayesian LASSO, Bayesian Ridge Region) were used to perform estimates of genetic parameter and genomic breeding value. And the accuracy of genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) is evaluated using the five-fold cross validation method. And the analysis of variance and multiple comparison methods were used to determine the best method for genomic selection in fleece traits of IMCGs. Further the different reference population sizes (500, 1000, 1500, and 2000) was set. Then the best method was applied to estimate genome breeding values, and evaluate the impact of reference population sizes on the accuracy of genome selection for fleece traits in IMCGs. Results: It was found that the genomic prediction accuracy for each fleece trait in IMCGs by GBLUP method is highest, and it is significantly higher than that obtained by Bayesian method. The accuracy of breeding value estimation is 58.52% -68.49%. Also, it was found that the size of the reference population has a significant impact on the accuracy of genome prediction of fleece traits. When the reference population size is 2000, the accuracy of genomic prediction for each fleece trait is significantly higher than other levels, with accuracy of 55.47% -67.87%. This provides a theoretical basis for design a reasonable genome selection plan for Inner Mongolia cashmere goats in the later stag.

Constructing tightly integrated conductive metal-organic framework/covalent triazine framework heterostructure by coordination bonds for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

The construction of tightly integrated heterostructures with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) has been confirmed to be an effective way for improved hydrogen evolution. However, the reported tightly integrated MOF/COF hybrids were usually limited to the covalent connection of COFs with aldehyde groups and NH2-MOF via Schiff base reaction, restricting the development of MOF/COF hybrids. Herein, a covalent triazine framework (CTF-1), a subtype of crystalline COFs, was integrated with a conductive two-dimensional (2D) MOF (Ni-CAT-1) by a novel coordinating connection mode for significantly enhanced visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution. The terminal amidine groups in the CTF-1 layers offer dual N sites for the coordination of metal ions, which provides the potential of coordinating connection between CTF-1 and Ni-CAT-1. The conductive 2D Ni-CAT-1 in Ni-CAT-1/CTF-1 hybrids effectively facilitates the separation of photogenerated carriers of CTF-1 component, and the resultant hybrid materials show significantly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity. In particular, the Ni-CAT-1/CTF-1 (1:19) sample exhibits the maximum hydrogen evolution rate of 8.03 mmol g-1h-1, which is about four times higher than that of the parent CTF-1 (1.96 mmol g-1h-1). The enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ni-CAT-1/CTF-1 is mainly attributed to the incorporation of conductive MOF which leads to the formation of a Z-Scheme heterostructure, promoting the electron transfer in hybrid materials. The coordinating combination mode of Ni-CAT-1 and CTF-1 in this work provides a novel strategy for constructing tightly integrated MOF/COF hybrid materials.

The regulation mechanism of different hair types in inner Mongolia cashmere goat based on PI3K-AKT pathway and FGF21.

There is genetic diversity of hair types in the Inner Mongolia cashmere goat population. Previous studies have found that fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and PI3K-AKT signal pathways may be related to different hair types in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the PI3K-AKT signal pathway on different hair types, the expression of mRNA and protein expression sites of FGF21 in the hair follicles of cashmere goats with different hair types, so as to lay a foundation for understanding the molecular mechanism of different hair types and the role of skin hair follicle development. In this experiment, the skin tissues of long hair type (LHG) and short hair type (SHG) of Inner Mongolia cashmere goat were collected in three key periods of secondary hair follicle growth, namely, anagen (September), catagen (December), and telogen (March). The relative expression of FGF21 and PI3K-AKT signal pathway candidate gene mRNA in different periods and different hair types was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative technique (qRT-PCR), and the expression site of FGF21 protein was located by immunohistochemical technique. Through qRT-PCR, it was found that the relative expression of FGF21, FGFR1, AKT3, BRCA1, PKN3, SPP1, and GNG4 was significantly different between LHG and SHG. The expression of FGF21 in the skin of LHG was significantly higher than that of SHG in the three periods. Through immunohistochemical test, it was found that FGF21 protein was mainly expressed in primary hair follicle connective tissue sheath, primary hair follicle outer root sheath, secondary hair follicle outer root sheath, and sebaceous glands. It was also found that the expression of LHG skin tissue in the outer root sheath of primary hair follicles was higher than that of SHG in three periods. In summary, it is suggested that the PI3K-AKT signal pathway may play an important role in the formation of different hair types in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats.

There is genetic diversity of hair types in Inner Mongolia cashmere goat population. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the PI3K-AKT signal pathway on different hair types, the expression of mRNA and protein expression sites of FGF21 in the hair follicles of cashmere goats with different hair types, so as to lay a foundation for understanding the molecular mechanism of different hair types. It was found that the relative expression of FGF21, FGFR1, AKT3, BRCA1, PKN3, SPP1, and GNG4 was significantly different between LHG and SHG. It was found that FGF21 protein was mainly expressed in primary hair follicle connective tissue sheath, primary hair follicle outer root sheath, secondary hair follicle outer root sheath, and sebaceous glands. It was also found that the expression of LHG skin tissue in the outer root sheath of primary hair follicles was higher than that of SHG in three periods. So, it is suggested that the PI3K-AKT signal pathway and FGF21 may play an important role in the formation of different hair types in Inner Mongolia cashmere goats.

Identification of Genes Related to Hair Follicle Cycle Development in Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goat by WGCNA.

Cashmere goat from Inner Mongolia is an excellent local breed in China, and the related cashmere product is a kind of precious textile raw material with high price. Cashmere is generated from secondary hair follicles, which has obvious annual periodicity and includes three different stages: anagen, catagen, and telogen. Therefore, we investigated skin transcriptome data for 12 months using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to explore essential modules, pathways, and genes responsible for the periodic growth and development of secondary hair follicles. A total of 17 co-expression modules were discovered by WGCNA, and there is a strong correlation between steelblue module and month (0.65, p = 3E-09), anagen (0.52, p = 1E-05), telogen (-0.6, p = 8E-08). Gene expression was generally high during late anagen to catagen (June to December), while expression was downregulated from telogen to early anagen (January-May), which is similar to the growth rule of hair follicle cycle. KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of the genes of steelblue module indicated that genes are mainly enriched in Cell cycle, Wnt signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway and other important signal pathways. These genes were also significantly enriched in GO functional annotation of the cell cycle, microtubule movement, microtubule binding, tubulin binding, and so on. Ten genes (WIF1, WNT11, BAMBI, FZD10, NKD1, LEF1, CCND3, E2F3, CDC6, and CDC25A) were selected from these modules, and further identified as candidate biomarkers to regulate periodic development of hair follicles using qRT-PCR. The Wnt signaling pathway and Cell cycle play an important role in the periodic development of hair follicles. Ten genes were identified as essential functional molecules related to periodic development of hair follicle. These findings laid a foundation for understanding molecular mechanisms in biological functions such as hair follicle development and hair growth in cashmere goats.

Identification of the Key Genes Associated with Different Hair Types in the Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goat.

The Inner Mongolia cashmere goat is an excellent local breed in China. According to the characteristics of wool quilts, the Inner Mongolia cashmere goat can be divided into three types: a long-hair type (hair length of >22 cm), a short-hair type (hair length of ≤13 cm), and an intermediate type (hair length of >13 cm and ≤22 cm). It is found that hair length has a certain reference value for the indirect selection of other important economic traits of cashmere. In order to explore the molecular mechanisms and related regulatory genes of the different hair types, a weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was carried out on the gene expression data and phenotypic data of 12-month-old Inner Mongolia cashmere goats with a long-hair type (LHG) and a short-hair type (SHG) to explore the coexpression modules related to different coat types and nine candidate genes, and detect the relative expression of key candidate genes. The results showed that the WGCNA divided these genes into 19 coexpression modules and found that there was a strong correlation between one module and different hair types. The expression trends of this module's genes were different in the two hair types, with high expression in the LHG and low expression in the SHG. GO functions are mainly concentrated in cellular components, including intermediate filaments (GO:0005882), intermediate filament cytoskeletons (GO:0045111), and cytoskeletal parts (GO:0044430). The KEGG pathway is mainly enriched in arginine as well as proline metabolism (chx00330) and the MAPK signaling pathway (chx04010). The candidate genes of the different hair types, including the KRT39, KRT74, LOC100861184, LOC102177231, LOC102178767, LOC102179881, LOC106503203, LOC108638293, and LOC108638298 genes, were screened. Through qRT-PCR, it was found that there were significant differences in these candidate genes between the two hair types, and most of them had a significant positive correlation with hair length. It was preliminarily inferred that these candidate genes could regulate the different hair types of cashmere goats and provide molecular markers for hair growth.

Accuracy of Genomic Selection for Important Economic Traits of Cashmere and Meat Goats Assessed by Simulation Study.

Genomic selection in plants and animals has become a standard tool for breeding because of the advantages of high accuracy and short generation intervals. Implementation of this technology is hindered by the high cost of genotyping and other factors. The aim of this study was to determine an optional marker density panel and reference population size for using genomic selection of goats, with speculation on the number of QTLs that affect the important economic traits of goats. In addition, the effect of buck population size in the reference population on the accuracy of genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) was discussed. Based on the previous genetic evaluation results of Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goats, live body weight (LBW, h 2 = 0.11) and fiber diameter (FD, h 2 = 0.34) were chosen to perform genomic selection in this study. Reasonable genome parameters and generation transmission processes were set, and phenotypic and genotype data of the two traits were simulated. Then, different sizes of the reference population and validation population were selected from progeny. The GEBVs were obtained by six methods, including GBLUP (Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction), ssGBLUP (Single Step Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction), BayesA, BayesB, Bayesian ridge regression, and Bayesian LASSO. The correlation coefficient between the predicted and realized phenotypes from simulation was calculated and used as a measure of the accuracy of GEBV in each trait. The results showed that the medium marker density Panel (45 K) could be used for genomic selection in goats, which can ensure the accuracy of the GEBV. The reference population size of 1,500 can achieve greater genetic progress in genomic selection for fiber diameter and live body weight in goats by comparing with the population size below this level. The accuracy of the GEBV for live body weight and fiber diameter was better when the number of QTLs was 100 and 50, respectively. Additionally, the accuracy of GEBV was discovered to be good when the buck population size was up to 200. Meanwhile, the accuracy of the GEBV for medium heritability traits (FDs) was found to be higher than the accuracy of the GEBV for low heritability traits (LBWs). These findings will provide theoretical guidance for genomic selection in goats by using real data.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Body Weight Traits in Inner Mongolia Cashmere Goats.

Objective: Body weight is an important economic trait for a goat, which greatly affects animal growth and survival. The purpose of this study was to identify genes associated with birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), and yearling weight (YW). Materials and Methods: In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of BW, WW, and YW was determined using the GGP_Goat_70K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip in 1,920 Inner Mongolia cashmere goats. Results: We discovered that 21 SNPs were significantly associated with BW on the genome-wide levels. These SNPs were located in 10 genes, e.g., Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 (MAPK3), LIM domain binding 2 (LDB2), and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1B (LRP1B), which may be related to muscle growth and development in Inner Mongolia Cashmere goats. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis revealed that these genes were significantly enriched in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and phospholipase D signaling pathway etc. Conclusion: In summary, this study will improve the marker-assisted breeding of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats and the molecular mechanisms of important economic traits.

Assessing Genetic Diversity and Estimating the Inbreeding Effect on Economic Traits of Inner Mongolia White Cashmere Goats Through Pedigree Analysis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to discover the population structure and genetic diversity of Inner Mongolia White Cashmere goats (IMCGs) and demonstrate the effect of inbreeding on the live body weight (LBW), cashmere yield (CY), fiber length (FL), and fiber diameter (FD) of IMCGs. Materials and Methods: All data were collected from pedigree information and production performance records of IMCGs from 1983 to 2019. The population structure and genetic diversity were analyzed by Endog 4.8 software. Inbreeding coefficients were obtained by the pedigree package in R. Then, a linear regression model was used to analyze how inbreeding influences economic traits in IMCGs. Four levels of inbreeding coefficients (F i ) were classified in this study, including F i = 0, 0< F i ≤ 6.25, 6.25< F i ≤ 12.5 and F i ≥12.5. Variance analysis was performed to determine whether inbreeding levels had a significant effect on economic traits in IMCGs. Results: The proportions of rams and dams in IMCGs for breeding were relatively small, with values of 0.8 and 20.5%, respectively. The proportion of inbred animals in the entire population was high, with values up to 68.6%; however, the average inbreeding coefficient and relatedness coefficient were 4.50 and 8.48%, respectively. To date, the population has experienced 12 generations. The average generation interval obtained in the present study was 4.11 ± 0.01 years. The ram-to-son pathway was lowest (3.97 years), and the ewe-to-daughter pathway was highest (4.24 years). It was discovered that the LBW, CY, and FL increased by 3.88 kg, 208.7 g, and 1.151 cm, respectively, with every 1% increase in the inbreeding coefficient, and the FD decreased by 0.819 µm with every 1% increase in the inbreeding coefficient. Additionally, multiple comparison analysis indicated that when the inbreeding coefficient was higher than 6.25%, the LBW showed an obvious decreasing trend. The threshold value of inbreeding depression in the CY is 12.5%. However, inbreeding depression has not been observed in the FL and FD. Conclusion: Pedigree completeness needs to be further strengthened. The degree of inbreeding in this flock should be properly controlled when designing breeding programs.

Screening the key genes of hair follicle growth cycle in Inner Mongolian Cashmere goat based on RNA sequencing.

Inner Mongolian Cashmere goat is an excellent local breed selected for the dual-purpose of cashmere and meat. There are three lines of Inner Mongolian Cashmere goat: Erlangshan, Alashan and Aerbasi. Cashmere is a kind of precious textile raw material with a high price. Cashmere is derived from secondary hair follicle (SHF), while hair is derived from primary hair follicle (PHF). The growth cycle of SHF of cashmere goat is 1 year, and it can be divided into three different stages: anagen, catagen and telogen. In this study, we tried to find some important influence factors of SHF growth cycle in skin tissue from Inner Mongolian Cashmere goats by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Three female Aerbasi Inner Mongolian Cashmere goats (2 years old) were used as experimental samples in this study. Skin samples were collected in September (anagen), December (catagen) and March (telogen) at dorsal side from cashmere goats. Results showed that over 511 396 044 raw reads and 487 729 890 clean reads were obtained from sequence data. In total, 51 different expression genes (DEGs) including 29 downregulated genes and 22 upregulated genes were enriched in anagen-catagen comparing group. The 443 DEGs contained 117 downregulated genes and 326 upregulated genes that were enriched in catagen-telogen comparing group. In telogen-anagen comparing group, 779 DEGs were enriched including 582 downregulated genes and 197 upregulated genes. The result of gene ontology (GO) annotation showed that DEGs are in different growth cycle periods, and enriched GO items are mostly related to the transformation of cell and protein. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment result indicated that metabolic process has a great impact on SHF growth cycle. Based on the results of a comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed genes, GO enrichment and KEGG enrichment, we found that FGF5, FGFR1 and RRAS had an effect on the hair follicle growth cycle. The results of this study may provide a theoretical basis for further research on the growth and development of SHF in Inner Mongolian Cashmere goats.

Mixed-Metal-Cluster Strategy for Boosting Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction of Robust Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Rational construction of mixed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been proved to be an effective way to heighten the electrocatalytic performance for MOFs, while the function of mixed metal clusters in MOFs to the electrocatalytic activity has not been known. For the first time, we present a mixed-metal-cluster strategy to boost electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance for MOFs. Heterometal clusters (Fe2M(µ3-O) (CH3COO)6(H2O)3, denoted as Fe2M (M: Co or Ni)), were chosen as the metal source to construct two bimetal PCN-250-Fe2M. Then, we further mixed Fe2Co and Fe2Ni clusters to construct mixed-metal-cluster PCN-Fe2Co-Fe2Ni by the in situ solvothermal reaction. Consequently, the OER activity of PCN-Fe2Co-Fe2Ni shows a dramatic enhancement compared with that of the parent bimetal MOFs. The PCN-Fe2Co-Fe2Ni displays a lower overpotential of 271 mV (η10), small Tafel slope (67.7 mV dec-1), and good linear sweep voltammetry cycle stability for the OER. Combination of DFT calculation and experiment results show that the improved electrocatalytic activity of PCN-Fe2Co-Fe2Ni is ascribed to the increased electron density of Co and Ni active centers and electrochemically active areas.

[Progress in goat genome studies].

The goat genome is the research basis for the protection and utilization of goat resources, which is important for breeding and improving goat breeds. At present, with the continuous improvement of goat reference genome, various important research progress in goat origin, evolution and adaptability has been achieved. In this review, we summarize the research progress in the goat genome in detail, encompassing goat genome structure, genome map (genetic, physical and comparative maps), goat high throughput sequencing and SNP chip development. We aim to provide a theoretical foundation for the development of goat genome selection.

Thalidomide Combined with Chemotherapy in Treating Patients with Advanced Colorectal Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and effectiveness of thalidomide (produced by CHANGZHOU PHARMACEUTICAL FACTORY CO.LTD) combined with chemotherapy in treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. METHOD: A consecutive cohort of pretreated patients with advanced colorectal cancer were treated with thalidomide combined with chemotherapy. And chemotherapy for patients with advanced colorectal cancer were administered according to the condition of patients. Thalidomide was orally administered at a dosage of 50mg/day to 150 mg/day before sleeping for at least 14 days. After at least 14 days of treatment, safety and side effects were evaluated. RESULTS: There were 12 female and 3 male patients with advanced cancer recruited into this study, including 9 patients with colon, 6 patients with rectal cancer. The median age of patients was 57(41- 82) years. Partial response was observed in 2 patients (2/15), and stable disease in 3 patients(3/15). Incidences of Grade 1 to 2 myelosuppression was observed in 1/15 patients, and Grade 1 to 2 elevation of hepatic enzyme was recorded in 1/15 patients. Adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract were documented in 1/15 patients, and were Grade 1. No Grade 3-4 toxicities were diagnosed. No treatment related death was found. CONCLUSIONS: Thalidomide combined with chemotherapy was safe and mildly effective in treating patients with advanced colorectal cancer. However, further study should be conducted to clarify the effectiveness of this combination.

Comparison of serum tumor associated material (TAM) with conventional biomarkers in cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare expression level of serum tumor associated materials (TAM) with several conventional serum tumor biomarkers, eg., carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), alpha-fetoprotein(AFP), in selected solid tumors. METHODS: Patients diagnosed histologically or cytologically with liver, breast, esophageal, gastric, colorectal or pancreatic cancers were enrolled into this study. After diagnosis, the level of TAM was determined by chemical colorimetry, and levels of conventional tumor markers was measured by chemiluminescence methods. RESULTS: A total of 560 patients were enrolled into this study. No statistically significant difference was detected in TAM and the above mentioned tumor biomarkers in terms of their positivity and negativity (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Detection of TAM in liver, breast, esophageal, gastric, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer patients demonstrates a good accordance with CEA, CA199, CA153, and AFP, thus suggesting that further study is warranted to verify whether TAM could be a surrogate for these conventional biomarkers.

[Observation on therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture plus blood-letting puncture at Weizhong (BL 40) on acute lumbar disc herniation].

OBJECTIVE: To find a better method for treatment of acute lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: One hundred cases were randomly divided into 2 groups. The observation group of 52 cases was treated with electroacupuncture at Yaoyangguan (GV 3), Dachangshu (BL 25), Guanyuanshu (BL 26), Xiaochangshu (BI. 27) as main points, and blood-letting puncture at stagnant collaterals nearby Weizhong (BL 40); the control group of 48 cases was treated with traction combined with electroacupuncture at main points Jiaji (EX-B 2), Shenshu (BL 23), Dachangshu (BL 25). Their therapeutic effects were observed and compared. RESULTS: The cured rate and the cured markedly effective rate were 55.8% and 82.7% in the observation group and 33.3% and 54.2% in the control group, respectively, with significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Electroacupuncture combined with blood letting puncture at stagnant collaterals nearby Weizhong (BL 40) has a signifi cant therapeutic effect on acute lumbar disc herniation.

[Activation of periphery group III metabotropic glutamate receptors inhibits formalin-induced activation of spinal p38-MAPK in rats].

AIM: To explore the effects of periphery injection of L-SOP on the activation of p38MAPK in spinal cord in formalin pain model in rats. METHODS: Fourty-eight male Wistar rats were divided randomly into four groups (n=12): NS group and three different dose of L-SOP groups. For each group, 6 rats used to observe flinching and licking time every as nociception behavior 3 minutes in 1 hour after formalin injected and the other 6 rats used to observe the activation of p38(P-p38) by Western blotting. RESULTS: All the three different groups of L-SOP could inhibit nociception behavior in the tonic phase,and 250 nmoVl/L and 500 nmol/L groups could suppress not only in the tonic phase but also in the acute phase. 250 nmol/L and 500 nmol/L groups could reduce activated or phosphorylated p38MAPK in spinal cord. CONCLUSION: Periphery injection of L-SOP can reduce nociceptive behavior and phosphorylated p38MAPK in the spinal cord in formalin-induced hyperalgia, it is suggested that there is functional expression of mGluRs III in the periphery and is involved in the processing of peripheral noxious informations.