A preliminary study on the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms and methylation of dopamine system-related genes with psychotic symptoms in patients with methamphetamine use disorder.

Methamphetamine use disorder (MAUD) can substantially jeopardize public security due to its high-risk social psychology and behaviour. Given that the dopamine reward system is intimately correlated with MAUD, we investigated the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as methylation status of dopamine receptor type 4 (DRD4), catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genes, and paranoid and motor-impulsive symptoms in MAUD patients. A total of 189 MAUD patients participated in our study. Peripheral blood samples were used to detect 3 SNPs and 35 CpG units of methylation in the DRD4 gene promoter region and 5 SNPs and 39 CpG units in the COMT gene. MAUD patients with the DRD4 rs1800955 C allele have a lower percentage of paranoid symptoms than those with the rs1800955 TT allele. Individuals with paranoid symptoms exhibited a reduced methylation degree at a particular DRD4 CpG2.3 unit. The interaction of the DRD4 rs1800955 C allele and the reduced DRD4CpG2.3 methylation degree were associated with a lower occurrence of paranoid symptoms. Meanwhile, those with the COMT rs4818 CC allele had lower motor-impulsivity scores in MAUD patients but greater COMT methylation levels in the promoter region and methylation degree at the COMT CpG 51.52 unit. Therefore, based only on the COMT rs4818 CC polymorphism, there was a negative correlation between COMT methylation and motor-impulsive scores. Our preliminary results provide a clue that the combination of SNP genotype and methylation status of the DRD4 and COMT genes serve as biological indicators for the prevalence of relatively high-risk psychotic symptoms in MAUD patients.

Aspirin inhibits rotavirus replication and alters rat gut microbial composition.

BACKGROUND: Aspirin is widely used to treat various clinical symptoms. Evidence suggests that aspirin has antiviral properties, but little is known about its specific effect against rotavirus. METHODS: MA104, Caco-2, and CV-1 cells were infected with rotavirus, and aspirin was added after 12 h. Viral mRNA and titer levels were measured by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence assays. For in vivo validation, forty specific-pathogen-free SD rats were randomly divided into oral aspirin (ASP) groups and control (NC) groups. 16 S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to identify gut microbiota. After 6 months of continuous ASP/NC administration, the rats were infected with rotavirus. Fecal samples were collected over a 30-day time course, and viral levels were quantified. Proinflammatory cytokines/chemokine levels were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Aspirin inhibited rotavirus infection in cell lines and in rats. The effects of aspirin on viral replication were associated with the alteration of gut microbiota composition by aspirin, including increased abundance of Firmicutes and decreased abundance of Bacteroidetes after aspirin treatment. Mechanistically, aspirin reduced IL-2 and IL-10 levels, and increased IRF-1 and COX-2 levels. Aspirin blocked rotavirus replication in vitro and in vivo, which might be related to effects on IRF-1, COX-2, chemokines, and gut microbial composition. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that long-term oral aspirin administration reduces rotavirus infection. Intestinal virus infection may be suppressed in elderly patients who take aspirin for a long time. The change of their Gut microbiota may lead to functional disorder of the intestinal tract, which may provide some reference for clinical adjuvant probiotics treatment.

A new glance at autophagolysosomal-dependent or -independent function of transcriptional factor EB in human cancer.

Autophagy-lysosome system plays a variety of roles in human cancers. In addition to being implicated in metabolism, it is also involved in tumor immunity, remodeling the tumor microenvironment, vascular proliferation, and promoting tumor progression and metastasis. Transcriptional factor EB (TFEB) is a major regulator of the autophagy-lysosomal system. With the in-depth studies on TFEB, researchers have found that it promotes various cancer phenotypes by regulating the autophagolysosomal system, and even in an autophagy-independent way. In this review, we summarize the recent findings about TFEB in various types of cancer (melanoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer and lung cancer), and shed some light on the mechanisms by which it may serve as a potential target for cancer treatment.

[Evaluation of Lateral Pterygoid Muscle Contraction in Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders Based on 3D-T2 Weighted Imaging].

Objective To evaluate lateral pterygoid muscle(LPM)contraction in the patients with temporomandibular disorders(TMD)based on 3D-T2 weighted imaging(3D-T2WI).Multiplanar reconstruction(MPR)was employed to measure the length of LPM in the images taken in closed-and open-mouth positions. Methods Seventeen TMD patients [age of(29.82±10.70)years,males/females=8/9] and 13 normal volunteers [control,age of(23.54±3.31)years,males/females=6/7] received 3D-T2WI of the temporomandibular joints in closed-and open-mouth positions from November 2019 to April 2020 in Department of Radiology,Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital.According to the position of the discs,the subjects were classified into the following groups:TMD with disc displacement without reduction(TMD-DDwoR),TMD with disc displacement with reduction(TMD-DDwR),TMD without disc displacement(TMDwoDD),and normal control without disc displacement(NCwoDD).MPR was employed to measure the maximal length of the superior belly of LPM.One-way analysis of variance,receiver operating characteristic curve,and permutation test were employed for the statistical analyses. Results The contraction of LPM was significantly shorter in TMD-DDwoR group [(3.36±1.96)mm] than in TMDwoDD group [(7.90±3.95)mm],NCwoDD group [(8.77±3.13)mm](F=12.891,P=0.000),and TMD-DDwR group[(7.12±3.69)mm](χ2=5.314,P=0.031). Conclusion This study confirmed that the contraction of LPM decreased in patients with TMD-DDwoR,which provided imaging evidence for the study of disc displacement mechanism in TMD patients.

[Reproducibility Analysis of Iodine Concentrations of Abdominal Parenchymal Organs Based on Spectral CT].

Objective To investigate the intra-and inter-observer reproducibility of iodine concentrations of abdominal parenchymal organs based on spectral CT.Methods The water-free iodine images of the venous phase were retrospectively obtained from 50 patients with abdominal dynamic spectral CT scans.The iodine concentrations were measured in the left,right and caudate lobes of liver,spleen,pancreas and bilateral kidneys.Intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC)and Bland-Altman plot were employed to analyze the intra-and inter-observer reproducibility.Results The intra-observer ICCs of the left,right and caudate lobes of liver,spleen,pancreas,and left and right kidneys were 0.938(0.894,0.965),0.932(0.884,0.961),0.939(0.895,0.965),0.947(0.909,0.970),0.912(0.851,0.949),0.946(0.906,0.969)and 0.907(0.842,0.946),which indicated good intra-observer reproducibility.The inter-observer ICCs of the left,right and caudate lobes of liver,spleen,pancreas,and left and right kidneys were 0.947(0.909,0.970),0.927(0.875,0.958),0.943(0.902,0.968),0.956(0.924,0.975),0.934(0.887,0.962),0.927(0.875,0.958)and 0.892(0.818,0.937),which indicated good inter-observer reproducibility.Bland-Altman plots presented that more than 95% points of the intra-observer differences located within 95% CI of limits of agreement for the caudate lobe of liver,spleen,pancreas and bilateral kidneys,which was same as inter-observer differences of the caudate lobe of liver,spleen and right kidney.Conclusion The iodine concentration measurement based on the spectral CT presented good intra-and inter-observer reproducibility for the caudate lobe of liver and spleen.

[Optimal Mono-energy in Mono-energetic Spectral Computed Tomography of Enhanced Renal Cortex in Cortical Phase Based on Iodine Concentration].

Objective To identify the optimal mono-energetic enhanced spectral CT for renal cortex in cortical phase based on the iodine concentration. Methods Fifty patients with normal renal function received the abdominal enhanced spectral CT examination.The iodine concentration and CT values of the multiple mono-energetic spectral images were measured on renal cortex in cortical phase,and the correlation between the iodine concentration and the CT values and the coefficient of variation(CV)were analyzed. Results The correlation analysis demonstrated that the correlation coefficient was 0.994,0.994,0.993,0.987,0.976,0.960,and 0.938 between mono-energetic spectral CT images(40-100 keV with interval 10 keV,respectively)and iodine concentration(all P <0.001).The correlation coefficients of 40 keV,50 keV(P=0.007)and 60 keV(P=0.030)were significantly higher compared with that of 70 keV,and the correlation coefficients were not significantly among 40 keV,50 keV and 60 keV(P =0.590).The CV of renal cortex in cortical phase was 0.21,0.20,and 0.19 for 40 keV,50 keV,and 60 keV,respectively. Conclusion 60 keV is the optimal mono-energy for the enhanced spectral CT of the renal cortex in cortical phase.

MRI Histogram Texture Feature Analysis of the Optic Nerve in the Patients with Optic Neuritis.

Objective To evaluate the optic nerve impairment using MRI histogram texture analysis in the patients with optic neuritis.Methods The study included 60 patients with optic neuritis and 20 normal controls. The coronal T2 weighted imaging (T2WI) with fat saturation and enhanced T1 weighted imaging (T1WI) were performed to evaluate the optic nerve. MRI histogram texture features of the involved optic nerve were measured on the corresponding coronal T2WI images. The normal optic nerve (NON) was measured in the posterior 1/3 parts of the optic nerve. Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA was used to compare the difference of texture features and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of texture features for the optic nerve impairment among the affected optic nerve with enhancement (ONwEN), affected optic nerve without enhancement (ONwoEN), contralateral normal appearing optic nerve (NAON) and NON.Results The histogram texture Energy and Entropy presented significant differences for ONwEN vs. ONwoEN (both P=0.000), ONwEN vs. NON (both P=0.000) and NAON vs. NON (both P<0.05). ROC analysis demonstrated that the area under the curve (AUC) of histogram texture Energy were 0.758, 0.795 and 0.701 for ONwEN vs. ONwoEN, ONwEN vs. NON and NAON vs. NON, AUC of Entropy were 0.758, 0.795 and 0.707 for ONwEN vs. ONwoEN, ONwEN vs. NON and NAON vs. NON.Conclusions The altered MRI histogram texture Energy and Entropy could be considered as a surrogate for MRI enhancement to evaluate the involved optic nerve and normal-appearing optic nerve in optic neuritis.

Value of Texture Analysis of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Parameters in Differential Diagnosis of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor and Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.

Objective To evaluate the value of texture features derived from intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) parameters for differentiating pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (pNET) from pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC).Methods Eighteen patients with pNET and 32 patients with PAC were retrospectively enrolled in this study. All patients underwent diffusion-weighted imaging with 10 b values used (from 0 to 800 s/mm 2). Based on IVIM model, perfusion-related parameters including perfusion fraction (f), fast component of diffusion (Dfast) and true diffusion parameter slow component of diffusion (Dslow) were calculated on a voxel-by-voxel basis and reorganized into gray-encoded parametric maps. The mean value of each IVIM parameter and texture features [Angular Second Moment (ASM), Inverse Difference Moment (IDM), Correlation, Contrast and Entropy] values of IVIM parameters were measured. Independent sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U test were performed for the between-group comparison of quantitative data. Regression model was established by using binary logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency.Results The mean f value of the pNET group were significantly higher than that of the PAC group (27.0% vs. 19.0%, P = 0.001), while the mean values of Dfast and Dslow showed no significant differences between the two groups. All texture features (ASM, IDM, Correlation, Contrast and Entropy) of each IVIM parameter showed significant differences between the pNET and PAC groups (P=0.000-0.043). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that texture ASM of Dfast and texture Correlation of Dslow were considered as the specific imaging variables for the differential diagnosis of pNET and PAC. ROC analysis revealed that multiple texture features presented better diagnostic performance than IVIM parameters (AUC 0.849-0.899 vs. 0.526-0.776), and texture ASM of Dfast combined with Correlation of Dslow in the model of logistic regression had largest area under ROC curve for distinguishing pNET from PAC (AUC 0.934, cutoff 0.378, sensitivity 0.889, specificity 0.854).Conclusions Texture analysis of IVIM parameters could be an effective and noninvasive tool to differentiate pNET from PAC.

Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Texture Analysis in the Differential Diagnosis of Benign and Malignant Breast Tumors.

Objective To investigate the difference in texture features on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) images between breast benign and malignant tumors.Methods Patients including 56 with mass-like breast cancer, 16 with breast fibroadenoma, and 4 with intraductal papilloma of breast treated in the Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively enrolled in this study, and allocated to the benign group (20 patients) and the malignant group (56 patients) according to the post-surgically pathological results. Texture analysis was performed on axial DWI images, and five characteristic parameters including Angular Second Moment (ASM), Contrast, Correlation, Inverse Difference Moment (IDM), and Entropy were calculated. Independent sample t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were performed for intergroup comparison. Regression model was established by using Binary Logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency.Results The texture features ASM, Contrast, Correlation and Entropy showed significant differences between the benign and malignant breast tumor groups (PASM=0.014, Pcontrast=0.019, Pcorrelation=0.010, Pentropy=0.007). The area under the ROC curve was 0.685, 0.681, 0.754, and 0.683 respectively for the positive texture variables mentioned above, and that for the combined variables (ASM, Contrast, and Entropy) was 0.802 in the model of Logistic regression. Binary Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that ASM, Contrast and Entropy were considered as the specific imaging variables for the differential diagnosis of breast benign and malignant tumors.Conclusions The texture analysis of DWI may be a simple and effective tool in the differential diagnosis between breast benign and malignant tumors.

[Ependymoma in Sellar Region:Report of One Case].

Ependymoma arises from the ependymal cells of the ventricles and the ependymal cell nest in the white matter of the extra-ventricles. It may be located inside or outside ventricle and can be anatomically classified into supra- and infratentorial ependymomas. Supratentorial ependymoma can be found both inside and outside ventricle but is rarely seen in the sellar regio. This article reports a pathologically confirmed ependymoma case featured by plastic growth,nodular calcification,and flow-void signal.