Morphological and Transcriptomic Analysis of the Supplemental Boron in the Liver of Ostrich Chicks.

African ostrich chicks (Struthio camelus) were divided into six groups, and each received different levels of boric acid (source of boron) in the drinking water (0, 40, 80, 160, 320, and 640 mg/L respectively) to examine the histological, apoptotic, biochemical, and transcriptomic parameters. Morphological analysis in different groups was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, periodic acid Schiff (PAS) staining, and terminal deoxynucleotide transferase dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) assay. The biochemical profile was evaluated spectrophotometrically. Detailed RNA-Seq of the data was performed using the transcriptomic method. H&E staining showed well-developed liver structure up to the 160 mg/L boric acid (BA) supplement groups, while BA doses (320 mg/L and 640 mg/L) caused changes in hepatocytes and portal triads. PAS staining showed that glycogen levels were optimal in the 80 mg/L BA dose group, but a reduction in glycogen levels was observed after this group, particularly in the 640 mg/L BA supplement group. Cellular apoptosis showed a biphasic pattern, and the BA dose above 160 mg/L enhanced cell death. In addition, serum analysis showed that doses of 80-160 mg BA were beneficial for ostrich liver. Then, the transcriptome analysis of the 80 mg dose also showed mainly positive effects on the liver. These results demonstrated that chronic BA exposure (320-640 mg) can cause significant histological, apoptotic, and biochemical changes in African ostrich liver, while the adequate dose of supplementation (particularly 80 mg BA) promotes liver growth.

Association of Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli with severe Gut Mucosal dysbiosis in Hong Kong Chinese population with Crohn's disease.

Adherent invasive Escherichia Coli (AIEC) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD) in Western populations. Whether the presence of AIEC is also seen in CD populations of different genetic susceptibility and has negative impact on host microbiota ecology and therapeutics are unclear. AIEC presence was assessed in ileal tissues of 60 Hong Kong Chinese patients with CD and 56 healthy subjects. Mucosa microbiota was analyzed by 16s rRNA sequencing. Impact of AIEC on the gut microbiota was determined in a mouse model. AIEC was significantly more prevalent in ileal tissues of patients with CD than controls (30% vs 7.1%). Presence of AIEC in ileal tissues was associated with more severe mucosa microbiota dysbiosis in CD with decreased diversity and lower abundance of Firmicutes including butyrate producing Roseburia and probiotic Bacillus. A random forest model predicted the presence of AIEC with area under the curve of 0.89. AIEC exacerbated dysbiosis in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mice and led to resistance to restoration of normal gut microbiota by fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Proportion of donor-derived bacteria in AIEC-colonized mice was significantly lower than that in uninfected mice. AIEC was prevalent and associated with severe mucosa microbiota dysbiosis in CD in Hong Kong Chinese population. The presence of AIEC impeded restoration of normal gut microbiota. AIEC may serve as a keystone bacterium in CD and impact the efficacy of FMT.

Research advances in the diagnosis and treatment of acute-on-chronic liver failure with infection / 临床肝胆病杂志

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a severe syndrome of liver diseases commonly seen in clinical practice and can lead to severe disorders and decompensation of liver synthesis, metabolism, detoxification, and biotransformation, as well as multiple organ failure and an extremely high short-term mortality rate. Infection can induce or aggravate the condition of ACLF and is an independent influencing factor for patient prognosis. This article describes the mechanism and characteristics of ACLF with infection, summarizes the common types and clinical features of infection, reviews the recommended anti-infective regimens, and emphasizes the importance of early prophylactic treatment. ACLF patients with infection tend to have critical conditions, and early diagnosis and empirical anti-infective treatment is the key to successful treatment.

PBMCs microRNA-122 level correlates with virological responses to pegylated interferon alpha therapy in patients with hepatitis C genotype 1b / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

Objective@#To clarify the predictive power of PBMCs miR-122, as well as other clinical factors, for response to IFNα therapy in chronic HCV infected patients.@*Methods@#A total of 40 patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1b were enrolled. All the patients received pegylated interferon alpha (PEG-IFN α) in combination with ribavirin for 48 weeks. To perform the analyses, the patients were compared in terms of achieving sustained virological response (SVR) or not (NSVR) at 24th week after antiviral treatment.@*Results@#SVR rate was 72.5% (29/40) and NSVR rate was 27.5% (11/40). SVR group experienced significantly lower HCV viral load, total bilirubin (TBIL), alpha fetal protein (AFP), fibroscan and laminin (LN) compared with NSVR group before treatment (P<0.05). PBMCs miR-122 expression level was also lower in SVR group than that in SNVR group, although the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). and there was no significant change of miR-122 level from baseline to the last available measurement between SVR group and NSVR group. However, no significant association was found between baseline PBMCs miR-122 and HCV viral load, body mass index (BMI), alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), degree of liver fibrosis, respectively.@*Conclusions@#Our result suggest that PBMCs miR-122 level is not an efficient biomarker to predict response to IFN alpha therapy in chronic HCV patients. However, baseline HCV viral load, TBIL, AFP and fibroscan may serve as predictive factors.

Clinical characteristics of patients with HBsAg(+) versus HBsAg(-)/HBcAb(+) primary hepatic carcinoma treated by hepatectomy: a comparative analysis / 临床肝胆病杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the differences in clinical characteristics between patients with HBsAg(+) and HBsAg(-)/HBcAb(+) primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) treated by hepatectomy. MethodsForty-three HBsAg(+) and 18 HBsAg(-)/HBcAb(+) patients who underwent liver resection against PHC from October 2009 to November 2014 in Guangzhou 8th People′s Hospital were selected for the study. The clinical data of the subjects, including sex, age, histological differentiation, intravascular tumor thrombi, and hepatic cirrhosis, were compared, using t test for continuous data, chi-square test for categorical data, and Mann-Whitney U test for non-parametric data. ResultsNo significant differences existed between patients with HBsAg(+) and HBsAg(-)/HBcAb(+) PHC in terms of the age of onset (50.77±12.93 years vs 54.28±9.89 years, t=-1.031, P＞0.05), the incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (2.3% vs 167%, χ2=2.24, P＞0.05), the incidence of hepatic cirrhosis (62.8% vs 44.4%, χ2=1.746, P＞0.05), alpha-fetoprotein level (3638±7869 ng/ml vs 3577±9628 ng/ml, t=0.026, P＞0.05), histological differentiation (Z=-1.085, P＞0.05), and the rate of intravascular tumor thrombi (34.9% vs 22.2%, χ2=0.949, P＞0.05). ConclusionThere are no significant differences in the age of onset and progression of disease between patients with HBsAg(+) and HBsAg(-)/HBcAb(+) PHC treated by hepatectomy. However, given the possibility of occult hepatitis B virus infection, it is necessary to monitor hepatic carcinoma even post HBsAg seroconversion

Molecular Characterization of a Highly Pathogenetic Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Variant in Hubei, China / 中国病毒学·英文版

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) has been recognized as one of the most important pathogens of pigs throughout the world. In 2006, more than 10 provinces of China have experienced an epizootic outbreak of pig diseases characterized by high fever, reddened skin and high morbidity and mortality. From June 2006 to April 2007, we have investigated some clinical samples in Hubei province by RT-PCR and cloned several major genes, N, GP5 and NSP2 gene, shown in this study. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes revealed that the highly pathogenic PRRSV variant, ZB, was responsible for 2006 emergent outbreak of pig disease in Hubei province similar with those variants isolated from other provinces in China in 2006, and belongs to the NA-type PRRSV. In the PRRSV variants, the N and GP5 shear about 90% identity with prototypic ATCC VR-2332 and some typical NA-type Chinese isolates, except the 2850bp NSP2 gene (only shares 65% identity with ATCC VR-2332). But they all shear more than and 97% identity with other highly pathogenetic Chinese PRRSV strains. Additionally, there are extensive amino acid (aa) mutations in the GP5 protein and 2 deletions in the Nsp2 protein when compared with the previous isolates. Most of the variants found in 2006 epizootic outbreak of pig diseases in China were the farthest variants from the typical NA-type PRRSV in phylogenetic distance, and these diversities may be responsible for the differences in the pathogenicity observed between these variants and original Chinese PRRSV strains.