Sex Discrepancy Observed for Gestational Metabolic Syndrome Parameters and Polygenic Risk Associated With Preschoolers' BMI Growth Trajectory: The Ma'anshan Birth Cohort Study.

Background: Few studies have investigated the associations of childhood growth trajectories with the prenatal metabolic risks of mothers and their interaction with children's genetic susceptibility. Objective: To investigate the effects of gestational metabolic syndrome (GMS) risks and children's polygenic risk scores (PRSs), and their interaction effect on the BMI trajectory and obesity risk of offspring from birth to 6 years of age. Methods: A total of 2,603 mother-child pairs were recruited from the Ma'anshan birth cohort (Anhui Province of China) study. Data on maternal prepregnancy obesity, gestational weight gain (GWG), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were used to evaluate maternal GMS risk. In addition, 1,482 cord blood samples were used to genotype 11 candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to calculate children's PRSs. The latent class growth model using the longitudinal BMI-for-age z scores (BMIz) was applied to validly capture the BMIz growth trajectory. Results: Maternal GMS status was associated with higher BMIz scores and with an increased risk of overweight/obesity. Positive relationships were revealed between PRS and the risk of overweight/obesity among girls. Additionally, maternal GMS significantly interacted with the child's PRS on BMIz scores and the risk of overweight/obesity among girls. Hierarchical BMI trajectory graphs by different exposure groups showed consistent findings, and both boys' and girls' BMIz trajectories were divided into three groups. Among girls, the higher the GMS risk or PRS they had, the higher the probability of being in the high BMIz trajectory group. Conclusions: Maternal GMS status increased BMIz scores and the risk of obesity in both boys and girls and elevated the child's BMI trajectory from birth to 6 years of age among girls. PRSs were significantly associated with children's BMI trajectory and the risk of obesity and modified the associations between maternal GMS status and obesity biomarkers only among girls. Thus, regarding childhood obesity, steps should be taken to decrease maternal metabolic risks before and during pregnancy, and sex discrepancies should be noted to identify high-risk populations after birth to hierarchically manage them.

Relationship of individual and mixed prenatal phthalate exposure with placental structure and efficiency in the prospective Ma'anshan Birth Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have investigated the associations between prenatal phthalate exposure and placental structure and function with inconsistent conclusions. METHODS: Nested on the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort study, 2723 women provided spot urine samples during the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy to analyze six phthalate metabolites. The outcomes of interest were placental weight, efficiency (birth weight/placental weight), chorionic disc area and disc eccentricity. The relationships of prenatal exposure to a single phthalate with placental measures were analyzed. The associations between prenatal phthalate mixture exposure and placental measures were also evaluated. RESULTS: Most phthalate metabolites were significantly associated with placental weight, efficiency and chorionic disc area during the whole gestation and in each trimester of pregnancy, with different directions of relationships. Sensitivity analyses revealed similar findings, indicating the robustness of the statistical results. Furthermore, inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationships of prenatal exposure to some phthalate metabolites with placental weight, efficiency and chorionic plate area were observed. However, quantile g-computation mixture models did not reveal any association between maternal combined exposure to the total phthalate metabolites and placental measures. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal exposure to most phthalates and their metabolites was associated with placental weight, efficiency and chorionic plate area in both a linear manner and an inverted U-shaped nonlinear manner. However, the mixture of multiple phthalate metabolites was not observed to be associated with any placental measure.

Identification of potential biomarkers for digestive system cancers from serum-derived extracellular vesicle RNA.

BACKGROUND: Poor prognosis of digestive system cancers is mainly owing to lack of accurate and timely diagnosis. The exploration of novel tumor biomarkers from extracellular vesicle (EV) might be helpful to clinical diagnosis for digestive system cancers. METHODS: Several public databases were first used for a preliminary screening of candidate genes. The RNA levels of these candidate genes were then detected in cancer cell lines and the patients serum-derived EVs by PCR Array or digital PCR, respectively. RESULTS: We found that 4 EV-RNAs, ANLN, ITGA6, KRT18, and MMP9, had a lower level in gastrointestinal cancer patients than in benign gastrointestinal diseases patients and healthy controls, while 3 EV-RNAs, ANLN, ITGA6, and KRT18, had a lower level in pancreatic cancer patients than in benign pancreatic diseases patients or healthy individuals. And EV-RNA of MMP9 had a relatively higher level in advanced pancreatic cancer patients than in early-stage patients. Moreover, ROC analysis demonstrated that the determination of the above EV-RNAs could increase the ability of traditional tumor biomarkers to distinguish benign and malignant diseases. CONCLUSIONS: The serum-derived EV-RNAs of ANLN, ITGA6, KRT18, and MMP9 could be served as novel, non-invasive biomarkers for digestive system cancers.

[Clinical features of inhaled and blood-borne Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia and analysis of antibiotic resistance of the pathogen in children].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical manifestations between inhaled and blood-borne Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia (SAP) and the antibiotic resistance between the isolates of inhaled and blood-borne Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS: The clinical data of 44 pediatric SAP cases in the Children′s Hospital, Chongqing Medical University from January 2008 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Twenty-four cases were identified as inhaled SAP, and 20 cases as blood-borne SAP. RESULTS: Inhaled SAP was more common in children younger than 3 years of age, while blood-borne SAP was more prevalent in children older than 6 years of age. Patients with inhaled SAP had significantly higher incidence rates of cough, wheeze, moist rales, dyspnea and empyema than those with blood-borne SAP (P<0.05). The patients with blood-borne SAP were more vulnerable to severe fever, unconsciousness, dysfunction of liver and kidney, pyogenic osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, sepsis, and abscess of skin and soft tissues (P<0.05). Inhaled SAP isolates had significantly higher rates of resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, oxacillin, and cefoxitin than blood-borne SAP isolates (P<0.05), while the latter had a higher rate of resistance to cotrimoxazole (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Inhaled SAP often occurs in children younger than 3 years of age, and the respiratory manifestations are commonly seen. Blood-borne SAP often occurs in children older than 6 years of age, with the infectious-toxic symptoms that result in multiple organ infection and dysfunction. The isolates of inhaled and blood-borne SAP have different antibiograms.

[Analysis of serum vancomycin concentration after administration of different doses in children with Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze serum vancomycin concentration after administration of different therapeutic doses in children with Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia (SAP) in order to determine the appropriate dose of vancomycin in clinical administration. METHODS: The clinical data of 35 children who were diagnosed with SAP and treated with vancomycin from January 2008 to December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 35 SAP cases with vancomycin therapy, 22 cases (63%) had serum vancomycin trough concentration monitored. The numbers of cases with vancomycin at 10, 12.5, and 15 mg/(kg·dose) × every 6 hours (q6h) were 11, 4 and 7, respectively. The mean serum trough concentration of vancomycin in the 15 mg/(kg·dose) group was 14.98 mg/L, which was significantly higher than in the 10 mg/(kg·dose) and 12.5 mg/(kg·dose) groups (4.97 and 8.00 mg/L respectively; P<0.05). The percentage of cases that reached the expected trough concentration in the 15 mg/(kg·dose) group (71%) was significantly higher than that in the 10 mg/(kg·dose) group (9%), but there was no significant difference in this percentage between the 15 mg/(kg·dose) and 12.5 mg/(kg·dose) groups (71% vs 25%). CONCLUSIONS: The reasonable dosage of vancomycin for the treatment of pediatric SAP is 15 mg/(kg·dose) × q6h or 60 mg/(kg·d).

[The effect of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells on cord blood CD8(+);T cells activation, cellcycle and secretion of IL-17].

AIM: To study the effect of human placenta-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hPMSCs) on cord blood CD8(+);T cell activation, cell cycle and secretion of IL-17, and to provide the theoretical basis for it application in the cell-based therapies. METHODS: hPMSCs were isolated from mature placenta by the method of digestion. Then hPMSCs were cultured, expanded in vitro, and were used in test after the third passage. CD8(+);T cells were sorted from cord blood with immunomagetic beads. FCM was used to analyze the expression of early activation phenotype, cell cycle of cord blood CD8(+);T cells and cytokine secretion. RESULTS: CD8(+);T cells stimulated by PHA in the presence of hPMSCs were arrested at G0/G1 phase. The expression of the early activation marker CD25 and CD69 of cord blood CD8(+);T cells was inhibited in the presence of hPMSCs. While, IL-17secretion of cord blood CD8(+);T cells stimulated by PMA was increased. CONCLUSION: hPMSCs can suppress the activation of cord blood CD8(+);T cells by altering T cell cycle; up-regulate the level of IL-17 secreted by cord blood CD8(+);T cells.