ABSTRACT
Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) is associated with congenital absence of the uterus, cervix, and the upper part of the vagina; it is a sex-limited trait. Disrupted development of the Müllerian ducts (MD)/Wölffian ducts (WD) through multifactorial mechanisms has been proposed to underlie MRKHS. In this study, exome sequencing (ES) was performed on a Chinese discovery cohort (442 affected subjects and 941 female control subjects) and a replication MRKHS cohort (150 affected subjects of mixed ethnicity from North America, South America, and Europe). Phenotypic follow-up of the female reproductive system was performed on an additional cohort of PAX8-associated congenital hypothyroidism (CH) (n = 5, Chinese). By analyzing 19 candidate genes essential for MD/WD development, we identified 12 likely gene-disrupting (LGD) variants in 7 genes: PAX8 (n = 4), BMP4 (n = 2), BMP7 (n = 2), TBX6 (n = 1), HOXA10 (n = 1), EMX2 (n = 1), and WNT9B (n = 1), while LGD variants in these genes were not detected in control samples (p = 1.27E-06). Interestingly, a sex-limited penetrance with paternal inheritance was observed in multiple families. One additional PAX8 LGD variant from the replication cohort and two missense variants from both cohorts were revealed to cause loss-of-function of the protein. From the PAX8-associated CH cohort, we identified one individual presenting a syndromic condition characterized by CH and MRKHS (CH-MRKHS). Our study demonstrates the comprehensive utilization of knowledge from developmental biology toward elucidating genetic perturbations, i.e., rare pathogenic alleles involving the same loci, contributing to human birth defects.
Subject(s)
46, XX Disorders of Sex Development/genetics , Congenital Abnormalities/genetics , Mullerian Ducts/abnormalities , Mullerian Ducts/growth & development , Mutation , Wolffian Ducts/growth & development , Adult , Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4/genetics , Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7/genetics , Codon, Nonsense , Female , Genetic Association Studies , Genetic Pleiotropy , Homeobox A10 Proteins/genetics , Homeodomain Proteins/genetics , Humans , PAX8 Transcription Factor/genetics , Paternal Inheritance , Penetrance , T-Box Domain Proteins/genetics , Transcription Factors/genetics , Wnt Proteins/genetics , Wolffian Ducts/abnormalitiesABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Chinese herbal medicines have been utilized for thousands of years to prevent and treat diseases. Accurate identification is crucial since their medicinal effects vary between species and varieties. Metabolomics is a promising approach to distinguish herbs. However, current metabolomics data analysis and modeling in Chinese herbal medicines are limited by small sample sizes, high dimensionality, and overfitting. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to use metabolomics data to develop HerbMet, a high-performance artificial intelligence system for accurately identifying Chinese herbal medicines, particularly those from different species of the same genus. METHODS: We propose HerbMet, an AI-based system for accurately identifying Chinese herbal medicines. HerbMet employs a 1D-ResNet architecture to extract discriminative features from input samples and uses a multilayer perceptron for classification. Additionally, we design the double dropout regularization module to alleviate overfitting and improve model's performance. RESULTS: Compared to 10 commonly used machine learning and deep learning methods, HerbMet achieves superior accuracy and robustness, with an accuracy of 0.9571 and an F1-score of 0.9542 for distinguishing seven similar Panax ginseng species. After feature selection by 25 different feature ranking techniques in combination with prior knowledge, we obtained 100% accuracy and an F1-score for discriminating P. ginseng species. Furthermore, HerbMet exhibits acceptable inference speed and computational costs compared to existing approaches on both CPU and GPU. CONCLUSIONS: HerbMet surpasses existing solutions for identifying Chinese herbal medicines species. It is simple to use in real-world scenarios, eliminating the need for feature ranking and selection in classical machine learning-based methods.
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BACKGROUND: Cell autophagy has been proposed to be involved in drug resistance therapy. However, how the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) reduces risks of drug resistance in renal cancer (RC) cells needs a thorough inquiry. This study was assigned to probe the effect and mechanism of HOTAIR on sunitinib resistance of RC. METHODS: Clinical RC tissues and para-carcinoma tissues were obtained to detect the expressions of miR-17-5p, HOTAIR and Beclin1. Sunitinib-resistant cells (786-O-R and ACHN-R) were constructed using parental RC cells (786-O and ACHN). The resistance of 786-O-R and ACHN-R cells to sunitinib was examined. Western blot and qRT-PCR were assayed to obtain the expressions of miR-17-5p, HOTAIR and Beclin1. The effects of HOTAIR knockdown or miR-17-5p overexpression/knockdown on cell autophagy and sunitinib resistance were measured by MDC staining, immunofluorescence and Western blot. The sensitivity of RC cells to sunitinib and change in cell clone formation after sunitinib treatment were assessed by CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay, respectively. The relationships among HOTAIR, miR-17-5p and Beclin1 were verified by dual-luciferase reporter gene and RIP assay. The role of HOTAIR knockdown in sunitinib resistance was verified in nude mice. RESULTS: HOTAIR expression in sunitinib-resistant cells is higher than that in parental cells. Knockdown of HOTAIR in sunitinib-resistant cells lead to refrained sunitinib resistance and cell autophagy both in vivo and in vitro. Activation of autophagy could raise resistance to sunitinib in RC cells, while inhibition of autophagy could improve the sensitivity of sunitinib-resistant cells to sunitinib. HOTAIR could compete with miR-17-5p to regulate Beclin1 expression. Knockdown of miR-17-5p in parental cells increases cell resistant to sunitinib, and overexpression of miR-17-5p in sunitinib-resistant cells increases cell sensitive to sunitinib. CONCLUSION: HOTAIR negatively targets miR-17-5p to activate Beclin1-mediated cell autophagy, thereby enhancing sunitinib resistance in RC cells.
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It was a different study from traditional anatomy to construct three-dimensional (3D) model of the corona mortis (CMOR) through contrasted enhanced computed tomography (CT) scanning. This will provide an aid for the understanding of the fine anatomy of CMOR, as well as surgical produces. A medical image processing system was used to process computed tomography scanning data collected from 330 cases of woman patients. Accurate digital 3D models of the CMOR were used to study the incidence, location, and the morphological patterns. These models have a rotation of 360° and allow displaying from different views. The incidence was 51.1% for the venous CMOR, 14.1% for the arterial CMOR in the 660 sides pelvic wall and vessel models. The mean distance from the symphysis pubis for the venous CMOR was 66.87 mm, and 59.60 mm for the arterial CMOR. The morphological patterns we identified were classified in three types (I-III). The model of CMOR serves as a useful tool for the learning and investigation of the CMOR. In the future, the digital anatomical data can be beneficial to illustrating the operation approach and decreasing the surgical complications.
Subject(s)
Imaging, Three-Dimensional , Models, Anatomic , Pelvis/anatomy & histology , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Child , Contrast Media/administration & dosage , Female , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Middle Aged , Pelvis/diagnostic imaging , Young AdultABSTRACT
What is already known about this topic?: The quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) provides protection against a broader range of influenza strains by including strains of influenza A/H1N1, A/H3N2, B/Yamagata, and B/Victoria. What is added by this report?: This study aimed to assess the immunogenicity and safety of administering a single dose compared to two doses of QIV in children, taking into consideration their previous influenza vaccination history. What are the implications for public health practice?: This study provides evidence supporting the use of a single dose of the QIV in children aged 3-8 years who have previously received two or more doses of influenza vaccine. However, children who have not been previously vaccinated with influenza vaccine should still adhere to the recommended schedule of receiving two doses.
ABSTRACT
The interconnectivity of advanced biological systems is essential for their proper functioning. In modern connectomics, biological entities such as proteins, genes, RNA, DNA, and metabolites are often represented as nodes, while the physical, biochemical, or functional interactions between them are represented as edges. Among these entities, metabolites are particularly significant as they exhibit a closer relationship to an organism's phenotype compared to genes or proteins. Moreover, the metabolome has the ability to amplify small proteomic and transcriptomic changes, even those from minor genomic changes. Metabolic networks, which consist of complex systems comprising hundreds of metabolites and their interactions, play a critical role in biological research by mediating energy conversion and chemical reactions within cells. This review provides an introduction to common metabolic network models and their construction methods. It also explores the diverse applications of metabolic networks in elucidating disease mechanisms, predicting and diagnosing diseases, and facilitating drug development. Additionally, it discusses potential future directions for research in metabolic networks. Ultimately, this review serves as a valuable reference for researchers interested in metabolic network modeling, analysis, and their applications.
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BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the colon with an unknown etiology. Alkaline sphingomyelinase (alk-SMase) is specifically expressed by intestinal epithelial cells, and has been reported to play an anti-inflammatory role. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. AIM: To explore the mechanism of alk-SMase anti-inflammatory effects on intestinal barrier function and oxidative stress in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. METHODS: Mice were administered 3% DSS drinking water, and disease activity index was determined to evaluate the status of colitis. Intestinal permeability was evaluated by gavage administration of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran, and bacterial translocation was evaluated by measuring serum lipopolysaccharide. Intestinal epithelial cell ultrastructure was observed by electron microscopy. Western blotting and quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to detect the expression of intestinal barrier proteins and mRNA, respectively. Serum oxidant and antioxidant marker levels were analyzed using commercial kits to assess oxidative stress levels. RESULTS: Compared to wild-type (WT) mice, inflammation and intestinal permeability in alk-SMase knockout (KO) mice were more severe beginning 4 d after DSS induction. The mRNA and protein levels of intestinal barrier proteins, including zonula occludens-1, occludin, claudin-3, claudin-5, claudin-8, mucin 2, and secretory immunoglobulin A, were significantly reduced on 4 d after DSS treatment. Ultrastructural observations revealed progressive damage to the tight junctions of intestinal epithelial cells. Furthermore, by day 4, mitochondria appeared swollen and degenerated. Additionally, compared to WT mice, serum malondialdehyde levels in KO mice were higher, and the antioxidant capacity was significantly lower. The expression of the transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in the colonic mucosal tissue of KO mice was significantly decreased after DSS treatment. mRNA levels of Nrf2-regulated downstream antioxidant enzymes were also decreased. Finally, colitis in KO mice could be effectively relieved by the injection of tertiary butylhydroquinone, which is an Nrf2 activator. CONCLUSION: Alk-SMase regulates the stability of the intestinal mucosal barrier and enhances antioxidant activity through the Nrf2 signaling pathway.
Subject(s)
Colitis, Ulcerative , Colitis , Niemann-Pick Disease, Type A , Animals , Mice , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use , Antioxidants/therapeutic use , Colitis/drug therapy , Colitis, Ulcerative/drug therapy , Colon , Dextran Sulfate/toxicity , Disease Models, Animal , Intestinal Mucosa , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Knockout , NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism , Niemann-Pick Disease, Type A/metabolism , Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The abnormal brain functional connectivity (FC) of patients with mental diseases is closely linked to the transition features among brain states. However, the current research on state transition will produce certain division deviations in the measurement method of state division, and also ignore the transition features among multiple states that contain more abundant information for analyzing brain diseases. PURPOSE: To investigate the potential of the proposed method based on coarse-grained similarity measurement to solve the problem of state division, and consider the transition features among multiple states to analyze the FC abnormalities of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. METHODS: We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine 45 ASD and 47 healthy controls (HC). The FC between brain regions was calculated by the sliding window and correlation algorithm, and a novel coarse-grained similarity measure method was used to cluster the FC networks into five states, and then extract the features both of the state itself and the transition features among multiple states for analysis and diagnosis. RESULTS: (1) The state as divided by the coarse-grained measurement method improves the diagnostic performance of individuals with ASD compared with previous methods. (2) The transition features among multiple states can provide complementary information to the features of the state itself in the ASD analysis and diagnosis. (3) ASD individuals have different brain state transitions than HC. Specifically, the abnormalities in intra- and inter-network connectivity of ASD patients mainly occur in the default mode network, the visual network, and the cerebellum. CONCLUSIONS: Such results demonstrate that our approach with new measurements and new features is effective and promising in brain state analysis and ASD diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Autism Spectrum Disorder , Humans , Autism Spectrum Disorder/diagnostic imaging , Brain Mapping/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Brain/diagnostic imaging , CerebellumABSTRACT
Brain functional network (BFN) based on electroencephalography (EEG) has been widely used to diagnose brain diseases, such as major depressive disorder (MDD). However, most existing BFNs only consider the correlation between two channels, ignoring the high-level interaction among multiple channels that contain more rich information for diagnosing brain diseases. In such a sense, the BFN is called low-order BFN (LO-BFN). In order to fully explore the high-level interactive information among multiple channels of the EEG signals, a scheme for constructing a high-order BFN (HO-BFN) based on the "correlation's correlation" strategy is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the entire EEG time series is firstly divided into multiple epochs by sliding window. For each epoch, the short-term correlation between channels is calculated to construct a LO-BFN. The correlation time series of all channel pairs are formulated by these LO-BFNs obtained from all epochs to describe the dynamic change of short-term correlation along the time. To construct HO-BFN, we cluster all correlation time series to avoid the problems caused by high dimensionality, and the correlation of the average correlation time series from different clusters is calculated to reflect the high-order correlation among multiple channels. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed HO-BFN in MDD identification, and its integration with the LO-BFN can further improve the recognition rate.
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Functional connectivity (FC) network based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) has become an important tool to explore and understand the brain, which can provide objective basis for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most functional connectivity (FC) networks only consider the unilateral features of nodes or edges, and the interaction between them is ignored. In fact, their integration can provide more comprehensive and crucial information in the diagnosis. To address this issue, a new multi-view brain network feature enhancement method based on self-attention mechanism graph convolutional network (SA-GCN) is proposed in this article, which can enhance node features through the connection relationship among different nodes, and then extract deep-seated and more discriminative features. Specifically, we first plug the pooling operation of self-attention mechanism into graph convolutional network (GCN), which can consider the node features and topology of graph network at the same time and then capture more discriminative features. In addition, the sample size is augmented by a "sliding window" strategy, which is beneficial to avoid overfitting and enhance the generalization ability. Furthermore, to fully explore the complex connection relationship among brain regions, we constructed the low-order functional graph network (Lo-FGN) and the high-order functional graph network (Ho-FGN) and enhance the features of the two functional graph networks (FGNs) based on SA-GCN. The experimental results on benchmark datasets show that: (1) SA-GCN can play a role in feature enhancement and can effectively extract more discriminative features, and (2) the integration of Lo-FGN and Ho-FGN can achieve the best ASD classification accuracy (79.9%), which reveals the information complementarity between them.
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Rationale: Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBP1) is a tumor suppressor and a key enzyme negatively regulating Warburg effect in cancer. However, regulation of FBP1 protein expression and its exact role in prostate cancer (PCa) is largely unclear. Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is one of the most frequently deleted tumor suppressor genes in human PCa. However, the role of PTEN loss in aberrant Warburg effect in cancer remains poorly understood. Methods: Expression of PTEN and FBP1 was analyzed in several PCa cell lines and prostate tumor tissues in mice. Western blot (WB) and RT-PCR approaches were used to examine how PTEN regulates FBP1 expression. Co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) and in vivo ubiquitination assays were used to define the regulatory mechanisms. A PCa xenograft model was employed to determine the impact of PTEN regulation of FBP1 on PCa growth in vivo. Result: We demonstrated that in a manner dependent of PI3K/AKT signal pathway PTEN regulated FBP1 expression in various PCa cell lines and tumors in mice. We confirmed that this regulation took place at the protein level and was mediated by SKP2 E3 ubiquitin ligase. Mechanistically, we showed that serine 271 phosphorylation of FBP1 by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) was essential for SKP2-mediated degradation of FBP1 protein induced by PTEN loss. Most importantly, we further showed that loss of PTEN expression enhanced Warburg effect and PCa growth in mice in a manner dependent, at least partially on FBP1 protein degradation. Conclusions: Our results reveal a novel tumor-suppressive feature of PTEN in restraining FBP1 degradation and the Warburg effect. These results also suggest that prohibiting FBP1 protein degradation could be a viable therapeutic strategy for PTEN-deficient PCa.
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BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the major causes of human deaths at present. It is the leading cause of deaths in developed countries. Moreover, Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been discovered to play important roles in tumor genesis and development and are abnormally expressed in bladder cancer . OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to investigate the anti-cancer effects of circ 001418 on bladder carcinoma and its possible mechanism. METHODS: Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and gene chip were used to measure the circ 001418 expression. Cell proliferation and transfer, apoptosis and caspase-8 and caspase-3 activity levels were measured using MTT, Transwell assay, Flow cytometry. Caspase-3 and 9 activity levels, EphA2, cytochrome c and FADD protein expression, were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: The expression of circ 001418 was increased in patients with bladder carcinoma. Over-expression of circ 001418 promoted cell proliferation and transfer, and reduced apoptosis in vitro model of bladder carcinoma. Down-regulation of Circ 001418 inhibited cell proliferation and transfer, and induced apoptosis in vitro model of bladder carcinoma. Meanwhile, over-expression of circ 001418 induced EphA2 and cytochrome c protein expression, and suppressed FADD protein expression in vitro model of bladder carcinoma by the suppression of miR-1297. MiR-1297 reduced the pro-cancer effect of circ 001418 on apoptosis of bladder carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Results showed that circRNA 001418 promoted cell growth and metastasis of bladder carcinoma via EphA2 by miR-1297.
Subject(s)
MicroRNAs/genetics , RNA, Circular/genetics , Receptor, EphA2/genetics , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics , Apoptosis/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Cytochromes c/metabolism , Fas-Associated Death Domain Protein/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Humans , Signal Transduction , Urinary Bladder/metabolismABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To introduce our experience of laparoscopic uterovaginal anastomosis and operative outcomes following this technique and update the clinical management of congenital cervicovaginal atresia. STUDY DESIGN: Between March 2015 and January 2019, twenty-three patients with congenital cervicovaginal atresia underwent laparoscopic uterovaginal anastomosis and Luohu procedure. Their clinical characteristics, surgical outcomes and follow-up data were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: The mean ± SD age of the cases was 16.4 ± 4.0 (11-26) years. All patients had a history of primary amenorrhea and cyclical abdominal pain, and the average delay in diagnosis from first symptoms was 33.5 ± 38 (1-156) months. Most of the patients had 1-3 cm long vaginal pouch. The operative procedure lasted 125 ± 32 (80-190) min. The average vaginal length at 1 month was 7.9 ± 1.3 (range 6-9) cm. All patients showed resumption of menstruation. The patients were followed for a mean of 27 ± 13 (12-56) months. During the follow-up, cervical stenosis did not occur in any of the cases. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic uterovaginal anastomosis with Luohu procedure provided a minimally invasive, safe, and effective surgical option for the patients with congenital cervicovaginal atresia. The technique is uncomplicated, easy to learn and perform, and provides a functional and anatomic satisfactory result. No special surgical instruments are required with this technique.
Subject(s)
Cervix Uteri , Laparoscopy , Adolescent , Adult , Anastomosis, Surgical , Cervix Uteri/surgery , Child , Female , Humans , Retrospective Studies , Treatment Outcome , Vagina/surgery , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To reveal the proportion of concomitant extragenital malformations in a large cohort of Chinese patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Tertiary teaching hospitals in China. PATIENT(S): A total of 1,055 Chinese Han women with MRKH syndrome diagnosed and treated at 11 Chinese tertiary teaching hospitals from January 2015 to January 2020. INTERVENTION(S): Karyotype analysis, hormone profiling, pelvic ultrasonography, spinal roentgenograms, urologic ultrasonography, and Chinese female reproductive tract malformation registry platform (https://ecrf.linklab.com/). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics, concurrent malformations, and family histories. RESULT(S): Of the 1,055 Chinese Han patients with MRKH, 69.6% had type I MRKH syndrome and the remaining 30.4% had type II MRKH syndrome. Among the type II patients, 12.6% had müllerian duct aplasia, unilateral renal aplasia/ectopic kidney, and cervicothoracic somite dysplasia association. Skeletal malformations were the most common associated extragenital malformations in the study (22.0%, 232/1,055), of which idiopathic scoliosis and congenital vertebral malformations were the 2 main skeletal malformations (80.6% and 14.2%, respectively). Renal malformations were the second-highest associated extragenital malformations (9.7%, 102/1,055), with unilateral renal agenesis and ectopic kidney being the most common renal malformations (48.0% and 22.5%, respectively). CONCLUSION(S): Type II disease was less common among Chinese patients with MRKH syndrome compared with European patients. Skeletal malformations were more common extragenital malformations than renal malformations in our cohort.
Subject(s)
46, XX Disorders of Sex Development/complications , Mullerian Ducts/abnormalities , 46, XX Disorders of Sex Development/genetics , Adolescent , Adult , Bone and Bones/abnormalities , Child , Congenital Abnormalities/genetics , Female , Humans , Kidney/abnormalities , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To clarify the effects of the association between combined oral contraceptives (COC) use and ACE/AGT gene on stroke risk, and to undertake a preliminarily study of the molecular mechanism of the association between COC exposure and predisposing genes of hypertension on the increased risk of stroke. METHODS: This study was a multi-center case-control study based on the population of 25 towns in the surveillance regions of Jiangsu province, China. RESULTS: (i) The univariate analysis of the frequency of the DD genotype of ACE insert/delete (I/D) polymorphism between the cases and controls indicated its significant association with the stroke (P<0.01), especially for hemorrhagic stroke (P<0.01). (ii) Women with COC exposure and ACE I/D genotype had an increased risk for all strokes [adjusted odds ratio 5.63; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.20, 15.68], and an increased risk for hemorrhagic stroke (adjusted odds ratio 31.53; 95% CI, 3.54, 281.14) after adjustment for education and occupation. (iii) Multivariate analyses showed that hypertension was the most important risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke. COC use was a significant risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke. The combined effects of COC use, for 15 years and above, and ACE I/D polymorphism increased the risk of all strokes by more than eight times, and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke by more than 15 times. CONCLUSION: Hypertension was a most important risk factor for stroke incidence. The D allele of ACE I/D polymorphism may be a potential risk allele for stroke. COC users carried the ID+DD genotype that may further increase the risk of stroke, especially for hemorrhagic stroke.
Subject(s)
Angiotensinogen/genetics , Contraceptives, Oral, Combined/adverse effects , Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A/genetics , Polymorphism, Genetic , Risk , Stroke/genetics , Adult , Aged , Alleles , Blood Pressure , Case-Control Studies , China , Female , Genotype , Humans , Middle Aged , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a rare congenital disease characterized by uterovaginal agenesis. The diagnosis of MRKH syndrome generally leads to considerable emotional burdens on patients. However, studies focusing on the psychological influence on patients are limited and of unsatisfactory quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Chinese patients with MRKH syndrome and to identify the factors associated with depressive symptoms. We recruited 141 patients with MRKH syndrome and 178 age-matched healthy women as control group in this cross-sectional study. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Other parameters such as sociodemographic characteristics, treatment histories, personality traits, and attitudes toward femininity and offspring, were also gathered in the self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The PHQ-9 score was significantly higher in MRKH patient group than the age-matched control group (7.0 (4.5-11.0) vs. 6.0 (3.0-9.0)), median and IQRs) (P = 0.015). A total of 75.2% of MRKH patients suffered from depressive symptoms, and 34.0% reached a moderate to severe level, while the proportion in the control group was 61.2 and 24.2% respectively. Compared with other age groups, patients in their 20s scored higher on the PHQ-9. Patients with higher neuroticism levels in personality traits (OR 1.19 95% CI 1.11-1.28), negative self-evaluation of femininity (OR 3.964, 95% CI 1.371-11.464) and sexual dysfunction (OR 4.81 95% CI 1.24-18.72) (compared with those having no sexual activity) were more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Three-quarters of MRKH patients show depressive symptoms, and one-third of these individuals are even at risk for depressive disorders. Therefore, depressive symptom screening and proper psychotherapy in MRKH patients are of great importance.
Subject(s)
46, XX Disorders of Sex Development , Congenital Abnormalities , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression , Female , Humans , Mullerian Ducts/abnormalitiesABSTRACT
The pandemic caused by emerging Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) presents a global public health threat. Illustrating human antibody responding to viral antigen could potentially provide valuable information for basic research and clinical diagnosis. The antibody can be used as a complement to the viral detection for the rapid diagnosis of infected patients. Compared with spike protein (SP), nucleocapsid protein (NP) is normally conserved and highly immunogenic in many coronavirus members. As a major antigen, NP is a potential target for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we constructed a combinatorial fragment of antigen-binding (Fab)antibody phage library based on peripheral blood-derived from five coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infected donors. From the library, 159 Fab antibodies were obtained and identified by panning with NP. Among them, 16 antibodies were evaluated for their binding properties and epitopes recognition. Among these 16 antibodies, two well-paired antibodies were finally screened out for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Our works may provide a potential resource for the clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection.