Isoalantolactone exerts anti-melanoma effects via inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR and STAT3 signaling in cell and mouse models.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Although the anti-cancer activity of isoalantolactone (IATL) has been extensively studied, the anti-melanoma effects of IATL are still unknown. Here, we have investigated the anti-melanoma effects and mechanism of action of IATL. MTT and crystal violet staining assays were performed to detect the inhibitory effect of IATL on melanoma cell viability. Apoptosis and cell cycle arrest induced by IATL were examined using flow cytometry. The molecular mechanism of IATL was explored by Western blotting, confocal microscope analysis, molecular docking, and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA). A B16F10 allograft mouse model was constructed to determine the anti-melanoma effects of IATL in vivo. The results showed that IATL exerted anti-melanoma effects in vitro and in vivo. IATL induced cytoprotective autophagy in melanoma cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. Moreover, IATL inhibited STAT3 activation both in melanoma cells and allograft tumors not only by binding to the SH2 domain of STAT3 but also by suppressing the activity of its upstream kinase Src. These findings demonstrate that IATL exerts anti-melanoma effects via inhibiting the STAT3 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways, and provides a pharmacological basis for developing IATL as a novel phytotherapeutic agent for treating melanoma clinically.

Performance of common genetic variants in risk prediction for colorectal cancer in Chinese: A two-stage and multicenter study.

The efficacy of susceptible variants derived from genome-wide association studies (GWAs) optimizing discriminatory accuracy of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Chinese remains unclear. In the present validation study, we assessed 75 recently identified variants from GWAs. A risk predictive model combining 19 variants using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) statistics offered certain clinical advantages. This model demonstrated an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) of 0.61 during training analysis and yielded robust AUCs from 0.59 to 0.61 during validation analysis in three independent centers. The individuals carrying the highest quartile of risk score revealed over 2-fold risks of CRC (ranging from 2.12 to 2.90) compared with those who presented the lowest quartile of risk score. This genetic model offered the possibility of partitioning risk within the average risk population, which might serve as a first step toward developing individualized CRC prevention strategies in China.

Prevalence and genotype distribution of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in farmed raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Shandong Province, eastern China.

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a common microsporidian species, which can infect humans and various species of animals. However, little is known about E. bieneusi prevalence and genotypes in farmed raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Shandong Province, China. In this study, a total of 356 fecal samples were collected from farmed raccoon dogs in Weihai, Weifang, and Yantai cities in Shandong Province, China. A total of 23 (6.5%) samples were E. bieneusi-positive by nested PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA. Statistical analysis showed that E. bieneusi prevalence in male raccoon dogs was higher than that in female raccoon dogs, and the highest E. bieneusi prevalence was detected in adult raccoon dogs. Sequence analysis revealed four known E. bieneusi genotypes (D, type IV, CHG1, and Peru8), and type IV (11/23) was the predominant genotype. The genotypes type IV, Peru8, and CHG1 were reported in raccoon dogs for the first time in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that three human-pathogenic genotypes (D, type IV, and Peru8) were clustered into group 1, and the CHG1 belonged to group 2. These findings expand the current understanding of E. bieneusi prevalence and genotype distribution in raccoon dogs in China. Our study also shows that raccoon dogs are hosts for E. bieneusi belonging to several genotypes, including zoonotic ones, highlighting the possibility of transmission of this pathogen between raccoon dogs and humans.

Adjuvant Chemotherapy Seemed Not to Have Survival Benefit in Rectal Cancer Patients with ypTis-2N0 After Preoperative Radiotherapy and Surgery from a Population-Based Propensity Score Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant chemotherapy is currently offered routinely, as standard, after radical resection for patients with rectal cancer receiving neo-adjuvant chemoradiation. However, the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with ypTis-2N0M0 has not been documented to the same extent, and the survival benefit remained controversial. The purpose of this work was to determine the role of chemotherapy in patients with ypTis-2N0M0 classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (n = 4,217). A propensity score model was utilized to balance baseline covariates. RESULTS: Of the 4,217 included patients, 335 with ypTis-2N0M0 did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. There were comparable cancer-specific survivals (CSS) between those undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy or not (log-rank test = 0.136, p = .712) in the overall sample. After propensity score matching, the cancer-specific survival did not differ between the chemotherapy and observation groups (log-rank test = 0.089, p = .765). Additionally, the Cox model did not demonstrate adjuvant chemotherapy as the prognostic factor, with hazard ratio = 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.69-1.32) for CSS. Furthermore, the 10-year cumulative CSS was 78.7% and 79.4% between the chemotherapy and observation groups, indicating no significance, and no impact of adjuvant chemotherapy on survival was observed in different subgroups stratified by T stage, histological grade, histology, lymph nodes, and tumor size. CONCLUSION: Patients with ypTis-2N0 rectal cancer did not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy after preoperative radiology and radical surgery in this cohort study. These results provided new insight into the routine use of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with rectal cancer with completed neo-adjuvant radiotherapy and curative surgery. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Inconsistent recommendations for patients with rectal cancer receiving neo-adjuvant chemoradiation are offered by clinical guidelines. Adjuvant chemotherapy had no cancer-specific survival benefit, not only in the whole cohort, but also in the propensity score-matched cohort. A Cox model also confirmed adjuvant chemotherapy was not a significant prognostic factor in ypTis-2N0 rectal cancer. No survival benefit conferred by adjuvant chemotherapy was observed, regardless of whether T stage, histological type, grade, lymph nodes and tumor size varied.

Adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer with complete pathological response (pCR) may not be necessary: a pooled analysis of 5491 patients.

BACKGROUND: It is recommended postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for all rectal cancers undergoing neo-chemoradiotherapy regardless of the final yield pathology. However, the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in pathological complete response (pCR) remains controversial. We aimed to identify the necessarily of adjuvant chemotherapy in pCR. METHODS: Consecutive patients with pCR in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC) were enrolled. Meanwhile, a pooled analysis of individual patient with pCR was performed from PubMed and Embase databases for validation. RESULTS: A total of 171 patients form FUSCC were identified to achieve pCR with up to almost 10 years follow-up. Among them, those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had no survival benefits compared to those without adjuvant chemotherapy (log-rank test = 0.17, P = 0.676). The 5y-DFS rates for patients in chemo group and no-chemo group was 87.5 and 88.8%, respectively, showing no significant difference (p = 0.854). No matter chemotherapy regimens, T stage, EMVI and CRM status varied, the results remained consistent. Meantime, the COX model did not demonstrate adjuvant chemotherapy as the independent risk factor for OS and DFS. Additionally, among 18 systemic recurrences in all, the rate of relapse surged rapidly on the 12 months and rose up to peak in the 36th months. In order to validate these results, nine controlled trials involving 5491 patients with pCR were included in this pooled-analysis. For both 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival, the pooling data did not produce a statistically significant effect in cases of adjuvant chemotherapy performed (RR = 0.79 and RR = 0.95, respectively, all p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study suggested that rectal cancer patients with pCR did not benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy and we recommended that achievement of pCR require more prolonged close follow care in case of distant metastasis.

Occurrence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Chinese Tan sheep in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China.

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a zoonotic parasite which is considered to be an opportunistic pathogen of humans and animals. A number of studies have reported E. bieneusi infection in various animals. However, no information is available on the occurrence of E. bieneusi in Tan sheep, a unique indigenous sheep species in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. The objectives of the present study were to examine the prevalence and identify the genotypes of E. bieneusi in Tan sheep in China. A total of 1014 fecal specimens of Tan sheep from six farms in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region were examined by nested PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The total prevalence of E. bieneusi was 12.2% (124/1014), ranging from 0.5 to 22.2% on six farms. Sequence analysis identified 10 genotypes of E. bieneusi, including three known genotypes, BEB6, COS-I, and CHG13, and seven novel genotypes designated as NX1 to NX7, which all belonged to group 2 by phylogenetic analysis. This is the first report describing the prevalence of E. bieneusi in Tan sheep, and the new genotypes identified in the current study expand the genotype distribution of E. bieneusi. These findings provide baseline data and have implications for the epidemiology and control of E. bieneusi infection in Tan sheep.

Mucinous Adenocarcinomas Histotype Can Also be a High-Risk Factor for Stage II Colorectal Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Colorectal mucinous adenocarcinoma (MA) has been associated with a worse prognosis than adenocarcinoma (AD) in advanced stages. Little is known about the prognostic impact of a mucinous histotype on the early stages of colorectal cancer with negative lymph node (LN) metastasis. In contrast to the established prognostic factors such as T stage and grading, the histological subtype is not thought to contribute to the therapeutic outcome, although different subtypes can potentially represent different entities. In this study, we aimed to define the prognostic value of mucinous histology in colorectal cancer with negative LNs. METHODS: Between 2006 and 2017, a total of 4893 consecutive patients without LN metastasis underwent radical surgery for primary colorectal cancer (MA and AD) in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC). Clinical, histopathological, and survival data were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of MA was 11% in 4893 colorectal cancer patients without LN metastasis. The MA patients had a higher T category, a greater percentage of LN harvested, larger tumor size and worse grading than the AD patients (p < 0.001 for each). We found that MA histology was correlated with a poor prognosis in terms of relapse in node-negative patients, and MA histology combined with TNM staging may be a feasible method for predicting the relapse rate. Additionally, MA presented as a high-risk factor in patients with negative perineural or vascular invasion and well/moderate-differentiation and showed a more dismal prognosis for stage II patients. Meanwhile, the disease-free survival was identical in MA and AD patients after neo- and adjuvant chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: MA histology is an independent predictor of poor prognosis due to relapse in LN-negative colorectal cancer patients. Mucinous histology can suggest a possible high risk in early-stage colorectal carcinoma.

Thylakoid membrane oxidoreductase LTO1/AtVKOR is involved in ABA-mediated response to osmotic stress in Arabidopsis.

Arabidopsis lumen thiol oxidoreductase 1 (LTO1) - the At4g35760 gene product - was previously found to be related to reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Here, we show that ROS accumulated in a mutant Arabidopsis line (lto1-2, mutant of LTO1/AtVKOR) under osmotic stress at a higher level than that observed in wild-type and transgenic complemented plants of the lto1-2 mutant (lto1-2C, transgenic complemented plants of lto1-2). Because ROS accumulation in osmotic stress is triggered by abscisic acid (ABA), an ABA-responsive gene, Annexin 1 (AnnAt1), was selected to study the response. Osmotic stress or exogenous ABA can significantly upregulate the transcription of AnnAt1 in wild-type and lto1-2C plants. Only a slight change in the transcriptional abundance of AnnAt1 was observed under osmotic stress in the lto1-2 mutant, but exogenous ABA application could increase the expression of AnnAt1, which suggested that exogenous ABA had a partial complementation role. Because the transcription of AnnAt1 is regulated by ABRE (ABA-responsive elements) binding proteins (AREBs)/ABRE binding factors (ABFs), the expression of AREBs/ABFs was also analyzed. The transcription of AREBs/ABFs in the lto1-2 mutant was not induced by osmotic stress but was significantly upregulated by exogenous ABA, which significantly differs from the wild-type and lto1-2C plant responses. Similarly, the expression of another ABA-responsive gene, RD29B (responsive to desiccation stress gene 29B), in the lto1-2 mutant was also upregulated by exogenous ABA. The partial complementation of mutants by ABA indicated that the ABA signal transduction pathway was not significantly affected in the lto1-2 mutant. Taken together, these results suggest that LTO1 is involved in ABA-mediated response to osmotic stress, possibly by affecting the biosynthesis of endogenous ABA.

The Prognostic Value of Preoperative Serum CEA and CA19-9 Values in Stage I-III Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There is disagreement about the prognostic value of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) in patients who have stage I-III colorectal cancer. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between preoperative serum CEA and CA19-9 levels and clinical outcome in patients with this disease. METHODOLOGY: The study included 724 patients who had received radical resection for stage I-III colorectal cancer in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. We retrospectively investigated the relationship between patients' characteristics and survival, using univariate and multivariate analyses. In multivariate analysis, factors found significant in the univariate analysis were compared with patients' outcomes. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, differentiation (P < 0.001), depth of invasion (P < 0.001), number of lymph node metastases (P < 0.001), and elevated levels of CEA (P < 0.001) and CA19-9 (P < 0.001) were closely correlated with patients' survival. In multivariate analysis, the number of lymph node metastases (P < 0.001), preoperative CA19-9 (P = 0.015) and CEA (P = 0.028) values, differentiation (p = 0.040) and depth of invasion (p = 0.039) were independent prognostic factors for survival. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative CA19-9 and CEA have independent prognostic values in stage I-III colorectal cancer. Elevation of and both CEA and CA19-9 values predicted the worst outcome.

Morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses revealed two new species from China and a new record from Jilin Province of Agaricales.

In this study, we have found two new species-Strophariasubrugosoannulata and Strophariamicroaeruginosa. Phylogenetic analyses, based on the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) and the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nrLSU), suggest that the two new species are distinct and monophyletic. S.subrugosoannulata is distinguished from other species of the genus Stropharia by the pileus covered with greyish-orange squamules in the centre, stipe light brown and surface covered with white triangular squamules. S.microaeruginosa differs from other species in its pileus bluish-grey when young becoming lighter towards margins, later greyish-turquoise lightens towards the edges and surface radially striate when young, lamellae adnate to subdecurrent, stipe with white squamules at the base, acanthocytes absent. The new record species from Jilin Province, Clitolyophyllumumbilicatum was also confirmed, based on morphological and molecular study. Here, we have given full descriptions of each species, colour images, illustrations and two phylogenetic trees that show the placement and relationship of the two new species and the new record are provided.

[Intestinal absorption kinetics of flurbiprofen in rats].

To study the in situ intestinal absorption kinetics of flrubiprofen in rats, the absorption of flurbiprofen in small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) and colon of rats was investigated using in situ single-pass perfusion method and the drug content was measured by HPLC. The effects of drug concentration on the intestinal absorption were investigated. The K(a) and P(app) values of flurbiprofen in the small intestine and colon had no significant difference (P > 0.05). Drug concentration (4.0, 10.0 and 16.0 mg x L(-1)) had no significant influence on the K(a) values (P > 0.05). However, when concentration was 4.0 mg x L(-1) and 10.0 mg x L(-1), significant effect on the P(app) values (P < 0.05) was found, but significant effect on the P(app) values was not shown between 10.0 mg x L(-1) and 16.0 mg x L(-1) (P > 0.05). The K(a) and P(app) values of flurbiprofen on the perfusion flow rate had significant difference (P < 0.05). Flurbiprofen could be absorbed at all segments of the intestine in rats and had no special absorption window. The absorption of flurbiprofen complies with the facilitated diffusion in the general intestinal segments, and accompany with the cytopsistransport mechanism probably. The perfusion flow rate had significant effect on the K(a) and P(app).

iTRAQ-Based Phosphoproteomic Analysis Exposes Molecular Changes in the Small Intestinal Epithelia of Cats after Toxoplasma gondii Infection.

Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular parasite, has the ability to invade and proliferate within most nucleated cells. The invasion and destruction of host cells by T. gondii lead to significant changes in the cellular signal transduction network. One important post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins is phosphorylation/dephosphorylation, which plays a crucial role in cell signal transmission. In this study, we aimed to investigate how T. gondii regulates signal transduction in definitive host cells. We employed titanium dioxide (TiO2) affinity chromatography to enrich phosphopeptides in the small intestinal epithelia of cats at 10 days post-infection with the T. gondii Prugniuad (Pru) strain and quantified them using iTRAQ technology. A total of 4998 phosphopeptides, 3497 phosphorylation sites, and 1805 phosphoproteins were identified. Among the 705 differentially expressed phosphoproteins (DEPs), 68 were down-regulated and 637 were up-regulated. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that the DE phosphoproteins were involved in various cellular processes, including actin cytoskeleton reorganization, cell necroptosis, and MHC immune processes. Our findings confirm that T. gondii infection leads to extensive changes in the phosphorylation of proteins in the cat intestinal epithelial cells. The results of this study provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the interaction between T. gondii and its definitive host.

Clinical evaluation of a multitarget fecal immunochemical test-sDNA test for colorectal cancer screening in a high-risk population: a prospective, multicenter clinical study.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major malignancy threatening the health of people in China and screening could be effective for preventing the occurrence and reducing the mortality of CRC. We conducted a multicenter, prospective clinical study which recruited 4,245 high-risk CRC individuals defined as having positive risk-adapted scores or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) results, to evaluate the clinical performance of the multitarget fecal immunochemical and stool DNA (FIT-sDNA) test for CRC screening. Each participant was asked to provide a stool sample prior to bowel preparation, and FIT-sDNA test and FIT were performed independently of colonoscopy. We found that 186 (4.4%) were confirmed to have CRC, and 375 (8.8%) had advanced precancerous neoplasia among the high CRC risk individuals. The sensitivity of detecting CRC for FIT-sDNA test was 91.9% (95% CI, 86.8-95.3), compared with 62.4% (95% CI, 54.9-69.3) for FIT (P < 0.001). The sensitivity for detecting advanced precancerous neoplasia was 63.5% (95% CI, 58.3-68.3) for FIT-sDNA test, compared with 30.9% (95% CI, 26.3-35.6) for FIT (P < 0.001). Multitarget FIT-sDNA test detected more colorectal advanced neoplasia than FIT. Overall, these findings indicated that in areas with limited colonoscopy resources, FIT-sDNA test could be a promising further risk triaging modality to select patients for colonoscopy in CRC screening.

Noradrenergic innervations of the medial prefrontal cortex mediate empathy for pain in rats via the α1 and ß receptors.

Empathy involves integrated affective and cognitive processes to share the emotional state of others. This evolutionarily conserved ability has also been identified in nonhuman primates and rodents. Our previous work demonstrated that social interaction with a cagemate rat in pain induces mechanical pain hypersensitivity in cagemate observer (CO) rats. Moreover, we also demonstrated that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system are involved in this process. The LC sends noradrenergic innervations throughout the brain, and its innervation of the prefrontal cortex plays important roles in working memory and attention. The present study seeks to study the roles of the LC-to-mPFC pathway in pain empathy in rats. Selective ablation of the noradrenergic innervations of the mPFC through bilateral injections of the axonally transported catecholamine immunotoxin, saporin-conjugated antiserum to dopamine-ß-hydroxylase into the mPFC diminished mechanical pain hypersensitivity in CO rats. Bilateral intra-mPFC applications of the adrenergic α1 receptor antagonist prazosin and the ß receptor antagonist propranolol, but not the adrenergic α2 antagonist yohimbine, eliminated mechanical pain hypersensitivity in CO rats. In contrast, intra-mPFC applications of prazosin, yohimbine or propranolol did not affect the mechanical pain sensitivity of rats per se. Our results indicate that noradrenergic innervations in the mPFC mediate empathy for pain in rats via the α1 and ß receptors.

Grade G2 Rectal Neuroendocrine Tumor Is Much More Invasive Compared With G1 Tumor.

BACKGROUND: To compare clinicopathologic feature of rectal neuroendocrine tumor (NET) grade G1 with G2 NET. METHODS: Six hundred-one cases of rectal G1 and G2 NETs diagnosed in our center were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 601 cases of rectal NET, 515 cases were with grade G1 and 86 cases were with grade G2. Median tumor size was 0.7 cm. Compared with G1 NET, G2 tumors were with significantly larger tumor size (0.8 vs 2.2 cm, p < 0.001), less percentages of patients with tumors confined to submucosa (92.6 vs 42.8%, p < 0.001), more frequent presence of microvascular invasion (MVI) (3.6 vs 16.9%, p < 0.001) or peri-neural invasion (PNI) (2.0 vs 24.1%, p < 0.001). Incidence of lymph node and distant metastasis was 5.2 and 2.1% in G1 NET compared with 44.2 and 31.4% in G2 tumor, respectively (p < 0.001). For tumors sized 1-2 cm and confined to submucosa, incidence of lymph node metastasis was 6.1% for G1 NET compared with 21.1% for G2 NET. Status of MVI/PNI was predictive of lymph node metastasis for G2 tumor rather than G1 NET in this subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Rectal G2 NET was much more invasive with significantly elevated prevalence of lymph node metastasis compared with G1 tumor.

Prediction of hepatic metastasis and relapse in colorectal cancers based on concordance analyses with liver fibrosis scores.

BACKGROUND: Liver fibrosis, resulted from several liver diseases, are increasing up to 25% in population in global. It remains undetermined how much impact liver fibrosis have on the development of hepatic metastasis and relapse in colorectal cancer (CRC). Hence the aim of this study was to clarify the role of liver fibrosis on hepatic metastasis and relapse in CRC undergoing curative therapy. METHODS: We enrolled consecutive 1652 patients with radical colorectal surgery as the discovery cohort, and the validation set enrolled 432 CRC patients with hepatic metastasis. To determine liver fibrosis, the NFS, FIB4 and APRI scores were applied. The influence of liver fibrosis on hepatic metastasis and relapse was assessed by survival analyses. Nomograms with fibrosis score incorporated were established to identify the incremental value for individualized relapse estimation, which was then assessed with respect to calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. RESULTS: The high liver fibrosis score patients had significantly worse outcomes than low score in 5-year hepatic metastasis (22.6 vs. 8.7%) in discovery cohort, and relapse (58.2 vs. 44.1%) in validation cohort. Multivariate analysis also revealed liver fibrosis as an independent prognostic factor. The distribution analysis also demonstrated higher liver fibrosis score a powerful prognostic factor for hepatic metastasis and relapse. The nomogram incorporated with liver fibrosis score resulted in better performance than TNM staging system and clinicopathologic nomograms. Importantly, the discriminatory capacity of the fibrosis score was superior to that of the CRS score in predicting hepatic specific disease-free survival (DFS) and relapse-free survival (RFS), as demonstrated by the C-index and AUC. The concordance study showed well agreement among NFS, FIB4 and APRI in predicting DFS and RFS. Among these three noninvasive liver fibrosis scores, NFS score performed the best in predicting hepatic specific DFS and RFS. CONCLUSION: The liver fibrosis was a powerful predictor of hepatic specific DFS and RFS in CRC. Fibrosis niche may be a favorable microenvironment for metastatic formation in the liver.

Prevalence and multilocus genotyping of Giardia duodenalis in Tan sheep (Ovis aries) in northwestern China.

Giardia duodenalis is a common intestinal protozoa, which can cause the occurrence of diarrhea, weight loss, and even death in animals or human, this threatens the husbandry industry and public health. It can infect virtually humans and all domestic animals including sheep. Tan sheep is one of the most important sheep breeds, which is short-tailed indigenous sheep breed used for production of high quality meat and pelts in China. However, there are no report regarding the occurrence and multilocus genotyping of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep in northwestern China. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and multilocus genotypes of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep. 1014 fecal samples were collected from Tan sheep from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and three loci (ß-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes) were amplified by nested PCR. The prevalence of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep was 14.5% (147/1014), two assemblages (assemblage A, n = 43; and E, n = 90) were detected, including one novel assemblage A at bg locus, one novel assemblage A at tpi locus, and 10 and 11 novel subtypes of assemblage E were detected at the bg and gdh loci, respectively. One MLGs was formed based on sequence variation among the three loci. Moreover, 9 Tan sheep were infected with two assemblages (A and E) based on the three loci. These findings expand the host range of G. duodenalis and revealed genetic diversity of G. duodenalis assemblages in Tan sheep.

Prevalence and Genotype Distribution of Giardia duodenalis in Rabbits in Shandong Province, Eastern China.

Giardia duodenalis is a zoonotic enteric parasite that can infect humans and a number of animal species including rabbits with a worldwide distribution. Infection with G. duodenalis can cause serious public health problems and significant economic losses to animal husbandry. So accurate understanding of the prevalence and genotype distribution of G. duodenalis in rabbits is necessary. In the present study, a total of 616 fecal samples were collected from rabbits in Shandong province, eastern China, and examined in G. duodenalis prevalence and genotypes by nested PCR amplification of ß-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) gene loci of G. duodenalis. Sixty-nine (11.2%) of the examined rabbit fecal samples were G. duodenalis-positive. Of them, the prevalence of G. duodenalis is 8.4% (41/490) in Rizhao city and 22.2% (28/126) in Weihai city. Breeds, region, and feeding modes were highly correlated with G. duodenalis infection in rabbits. Moreover, three genotypes (assemblages A, B, and E) were identified in rabbits at three gene loci, and the assemblage E was the dominant genotype, while the assemblage A was reported in rabbits in China for the first time. It is noticeable that two rabbits were found to be infected with two different G. duodenalis assemblages (assemblages A and E, assemblages B and E, respectively). These findings enrich the genotype distribution of G. duodenalis in rabbits and provide baseline data for preventing and controlling G. duodenalis infection in rabbits in eastern China.

A Risk Signature With Inflammatory and T Immune Cells Infiltration in Colorectal Cancer Predicting Distant Metastases and Efficiency of Chemotherapy.

In order to accurately predict oncological outcomes of colorectal cancer (CRC), we established a risk signature with tumor infiltrating neutrophils and T immune cells for prognosis. A total of 276 CRC patients from FUSCC, and 434 patients from TCGA cohort were enrolled in the study. A risk signature model in combination with CEACAM8+ neutrophils, CD3+, CD8+ T lymphocytes, and FOXP3+ regulatory T cells was established, and the relationships with patient clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis were evaluated. In TCGA cohort, high CEACAM8 expression was observed as an independent factor of poor disease-free survival (DFS), as well as inversely correlated with CD8 (P = 0.0035) and FOXP3 expression (P = 0.05). In the FUSCC cohort for validation, the association between CEACAM8+ neutrophils and DFS had been confirmed in CRC tissue (P = 0.026). Furthermore, a risk stratification was derived from integration of CEACAM8+ neutrophils and T immune cells. In both OS and DFS, the high-risk group all demonstrated worse prognosis than low-risk group, with statistical significance (all P < 0.001). In addition, the high-risk group was correlated with post-operative relapses with accurate prediction. Furthermore, the high-risk group identified a subgroup of CRC patients who appeared not to benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. At last, predictive nomograms were constructed with recognized independent prognosticators, showing this risk signature increasing the predictive accuracy and efficiency for OS and DFS. In conclusion, incorporation of neutrophil into T lymphocytes could provide more accurate prognostic information in CRC, and this risk stratification predicted for survival benefit from post-operative chemotherapy.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress induces apoptosis of arginine vasopressin neurons in central diabetes insipidus via PI3K/Akt pathway.

AIMS: Central diabetes insipidus (CDI), a typical complication caused by pituitary stalk injury, often occurs after surgery, trauma, or tumor compression around hypothalamic structures such as the pituitary stalk and optic chiasma. CDI is linked to decreased arginine vasopressin (AVP) neurons in the hypothalamic supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular nucleus, along with a deficit in circulating AVP and oxytocin. However, little has been elucidated about the changes in AVP neurons in CDI. Hence, our study was designed to understand the role of several pathophysiologic changes such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis of AVP neurons in CDI. METHODS: In a novel pituitary stalk electric lesion (PEL) model to mimic CDI, immunofluorescence and immunoblotting were used to understand the underlying regulatory mechanisms. RESULTS: We reported that in CDI condition, generated by PEL, ER stress induced apoptosis of AVP neurons via activation of the PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways. Furthermore, application of N-acetylcysteine protected hypothalamic AVP neurons from ER stress-induced apoptosis through blocking the PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that AVP neurons underwent apoptosis induced by ER stress, and ER stress might play a vital role in CDI condition through the PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways.