Clinical Application of Tonsillectomy with Preservation of Capsule and Support Tissue.

Objective: The clinical effect of tonsillectomy with the preservation of tonsillar capsule and stent tissue and punctuated suture of tonsillar capsule and stent tissue was analyzed retrospectively. Methods: From January 2013 to January 2022, a total of 960 patients underwent tonsillectomy, consisting of 530 males and 430 females with ages ranging from 4 to 60 years (median age: 11 years). The capsule and scaffold tissues were preserved in all patients during the operation, and the surrounding mucosa, capsule, and scaffold tissues were sutured without tension. Indexes such as operation time, intraoperative blood loss, tonsillar white membrane, incidence of postoperative bleeding, postoperative pain score, and incidence of tonsillar remnant were recorded, and the school attendance of children (≤12 years old) was recorded. Results: The mucosal covering of tonsillar fossa healed well in all patients, and the sutures were completely removed at 4 weeks after reexamination. All patients were followed up for 1-8 years, and there was no residual hyperplasia or residual inflammation. Children under 12 years old could return to school 4 days after surgery without any postoperative complications. Conclusion: Tonsillectomy, preserving the tonsillar capsule and scaffold tissue followed by punctate suturing, offered several advantages: it resulted in less intraoperative blood loss and postoperative pain. Patients could resume a normal diet 6 hours after the surgery without an increased risk of complications. Moreover, it significantly reduced the risk of postoperative bleeding.

A novel frameshift mutation of the endoglin(ENG) gene causes hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia in a Chinese family.

PURPOSE: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a dominantly inherited disorder that involves epistaxis, mucocutaneous telangiectases, and visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). This study aims to investigate the genetic causes in a Chinese family with HHT. METHODS: HHT was confirmed according to Curaçao's diagnostic criteria. Three patients diagnosed with HHT and healthy members were recruited. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and sanger sequencing were performed to define the patient's genetically pathogenic factor. RESULTS: The proband presented with recurrent epistaxis, hepatopulmonary arteriovenous malformation, and adenocarcinoma. A novel frameshift mutation (c.1376_1377delAC, p.H459Lfs*41) of the ENG gene was revealed in affected individuals by WES. There was no report of this variant and predicted to be highly damaging by causing truncation of the ENG protein. CONCLUSION: We report a novel variant in the ENG gene in Chinese that extends the mutational and phenotypic spectra of the ENG gene, and also demonstrates the feasibility of WES in the application of genetic diagnosis of HHT.

Circ_0058124 Upregulates MAPK1 Expression to Promote Proliferation, Metastasis and Metabolic Abilities in Thyroid Cancer Through Sponging miR-940.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancer (TC) is an endocrine disease, and its progression is regulated by many factors, including circular RNAs (circRNAs). However, as a new circRNA, the role of circ_0058124 in TC is worth further exploration. METHODS: The expression levels of circ_0058124, microRNA-940 (miR-940) and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) were assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR). The circular characteristic of circ_0058124 was identified by oligo (dT)18 primers, Ribonuclease R (RNase R) and Actinomycin D (ActD), and its localization was determined by nuclear-cytoplasmic separation assay. Also, cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay, and cell migration and invasion were assessed by transwell assay. Further, Seahorse XF Extracellular Flux Analyzer was used to measure the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of cells. Besides, dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and RNA pull-down assays were used to identify the mechanism of circ_0058124. Western blot (WB) analysis was used to test the MAPK1 protein level. In addition, mice xenograft models were constructed to test the effect of circ_0058124 on TC tumor growth in vivo. RESULTS: Circ_0058124 was highly expressed in TC and is a stable cyclic transcript, mainly located in the cytoplasm. Circ_0058124 knockdown suppressed proliferation, migration, invasion and metabolic abilities in TC cells. MiR-940 could be absorbed by circ_0058124, and the inhibition effect of its overexpression on TC progression could be reversed by overexpressed-circ_0058124. MAPK1 was a target of miR-940, and the suppression effect of its silencing on TC progression could be inverted by miR-940 inhibitor. Besides, MAPK1 expression was regulated by circ_0058124 and miR-940. Interference of circ_0058124 also reduced TC tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: Circ_0058124 might play a carcinogenic role in TC progression by regulating the miR-940/MAPK1 axis, which might provide a new idea for the treatment of TC.

Upregulation of microRNA-141 suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition and lymph node metastasis in laryngeal cancer through HOXC6-dependent TGF-ß signaling pathway.

Laryngeal cancer is one of the most malignant cancers among the head and neck malignant tumors. Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) contributes to cancer development through regulating proliferation and apoptosis of cancer cells. In this study, we aim to explore the roles of microRNA-141 (miR-141), Homeobox C6 (HOXC6) and TGF-ß signaling pathway in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and lymph node metastasis in laryngeal cancer. Initially, we identified differentially expressed genes in laryngeal cancer, among which HOXC6 was identified. Then the target miRNA of HOXC6 was predicted and verified. Next, expression of miR-141, HOXC6, TGF-ß1, Smad3, Vimentin and Snail in cancer tissues was detected. Then, AMC-HN-8 cells were transfected with miR-141 mimic, miR-141 inhibitor and HOXC6-siRNA to investigate specific role of miR-141, HOXC6 and TGF-ß signaling pathway in laryngeal cancer in vivo and in vitro. Our results showed that HOXC6 was a target gene of miR-141, which was downregulated in laryngeal cancer. Besides, overexpression of miR-141 could downregulate HOXC6 and inhibit the TGF-ß signaling pathway. Upregulation of miR-141 or silencing of HOXC6 can repress EMT, viability, migration and invasion abilities of laryngeal cancer cells. In addition, upregulation of miR-141 inhibited the tumor growth and lymph node metastasis in vivo. In summary, our findings demonstrated that upregulated miR-141 decreased HOXC6 expression, and inhibited the TGF-ß signaling pathway, EMT and lymph node metastasis in laryngeal cancer, which is of clinical significance in the treatment of laryngeal cancer.

Role of SDF-1α/CXCR4 signaling pathway in clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The present study aims to explore the role of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α)/stromal cell-derived factor receptor-4 (CXCR4) signaling pathway to the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). From January 2009 to December 2010, 102 patients with NPC and 80 patients with chronic nasopharyngitis were enrolled for the study. Immunohistochemical staining, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blotting were employed to determine the expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 proteins in NPC tissues and chronic nasopharyngitis tissues. Chi-square test was conducted to analyze the associations of the expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 proteins with the clinicopathological features of NPC patients. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between the SDF-1α protein expression and CXCR4 protein expression. The mRNA and protein expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 in NPC tissues were significantly higher than those in chronic nasopharyngitis tissues. The expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 proteins showed associations with T staging, N staging, tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging, skull base invasion, and cervical lymph node metastasis of NPC patients. Compared with NPC patients showing negative expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 proteins, those with positive expressions of SDF-1α and CXCR4 proteins had a significantly shorter survival time. SDF-1α protein, CXCR4 protein, EBV-IgG status, T staging, N staging, TNM staging, skull base invasion, and cervical lymph node metastasis were independent risk factors for the prognosis of NPC. The findings indicated that SDF-1α/CXCR4 signaling pathway might be associated with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with NPC.

Mutation Analysis of the Common Deafness Genes in Patients with Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss in Linyi by SNPscan Assay.

Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, and at least 50% of cases are due to a genetic etiology. Although hundreds of genes have been reported to be associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss, GJB2, SLC26A4, and mtDNA12SrRNA are the major contributors. However, the mutation spectrum of these common deafness genes varies among different ethnic groups. The present work summarized mutations in these three genes and their prevalence in 339 patients with nonsyndromic hearing loss at three different special education schools and one children's hospital in Linyi, China. A new multiplex genetic screening system "SNPscan assay" was employed to detect a total of 115 mutations of the above three genes. Finally, 48.67% of the patients were identified with hereditary hearing loss caused by mutations in GJB2, SLC26A4, and mtDNA12SrRNA. The carrying rate of mutations in the three genes was 37.76%, 19.75%, and 4.72%, respectively. This mutation profile in our study is distinct from other parts of China, with high mutation rate of GJB2 suggesting a unique mutation spectrum in this area.

Identification of a novel missense mutation in the WFS1 gene as a cause of autosomal dominant nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss in all-frequencies.

Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder affecting 278 million people in the world, and more than 60% of hearing loss patients can be attributed to genetic causes. Although many loci have been linked to hereditary hearing impairment, most of the causative genes have not been identified as yet. The goal of this study was to investigate the cause of dominantly inherited sensorineural all-frequency hearing loss in a six-generation Chinese family. We performed exome sequencing to screen responsible candidate genes in three family members with all-frequency hearing loss and one member with normal hearing. Sanger sequencing was employed to examine the variant mutations in the members of this family and 200 healthy persons. PCR-RFLP was performed to further confirm the nucleotide mutation. A novel missense mutation c.2389G > A (GAC → AAC) in WFS1 gene was identified, which was co-segregated with the hearing loss phenotype. No mutation was found in 200 controls and the family members with normal hearing in this site. The present study identifies, for the first time, a novel mutation in WFS1 gene that causes non-syndromic hearing loss in all, rather than in low or high, frequencies.

A case of pseudogout of the temporomandibular joint with giant cell reparative granuloma of the temporal bone.

Pseudogout, also known as calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease (CPPD) with giant cell reparative granuloma (GCRG) of the temporal bone is a rare disease, which is very easy to misdiagnose. When two diseases occur simultaneously, the pathological tissue of diseases is closely associated, which complicates clinical representation and causes enormous difficulty in diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of CPPD of the temporomandibular joint accompanied by surrounding GCRG of temporal bone in a 62-year-old male.