Identification and immunoinfiltration analysis of key genes in ulcerative colitis using WGCNA.

Objective: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic non-specific inflammatory bowel disease characterized by an unclear pathogenesis. This study aims to screen out key genes related to UC pathogenesis. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was conducted for screening key genes linked to UC pathogenesis, and the expression of the screened key genes was verified by establishing a UC mouse model. Results: Through bioinformatics analysis, five key genes were obtained. Subsequent infiltration analysis revealed seven significantly different immune cell types between the UC and general samples. Additionally, animal experiment results illustrated markedly decreased body weight, visible colonic shortening and damage, along with a significant increase in the DAI score of the DSS-induced mice in the UC group in comparison with the NC group. In addition, H&E staining results demonstrated histological changes including marked inflammatory cell infiltration, loss of crypts, and epithelial destruction in the colon mucosa epithelium. qRT-PCR analysis indicated a down-regulation of ABCG2 and an up-regulation of IL1RN, REG4, SERPINB5 and TRIM29 in the UC mouse model. Notably, this observed trend showed a significant dependence on the concentration of DSS, with the mouse model of UC induced by 7% DSS demonstrating a more severe disease state compared to that induced by 5% DSS. Conclusion: ABCG2, IL1RN, REG4, SERPINB5 and TRIM29 were screened out as key genes related to UC by bioinformatics analysis. The expression of ABCG2 was down-regulated, and that of IL1RN, REG4, SERPINB5 and TRIM29 were up-regulated in UC mice as revealed by animal experiments.

Primary gastric tuberculosis was misdiagnosed as submucosal mass: A rare case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis of stomach is the rarest form of the tuberculosis family. It is not only lacks specificity in clinical symptoms, but also lacks specificity in auxiliary examination results such as upper gastrointestinal barium meal and gastroscopy. In addition, gastric tuberculosis can coexist with gastric ulcer or gastric cancer, which is difficult to confirm the diagnosis and easy to misdiagnose. CASE SUMMARY: We report a patient who presented with gastric discomfort as the main symptom and was diagnosed with gastric submucosal mass at a local hospital several months ago. For further endoscopic treatment, the patient came to our hospital for hospitalization. CONCLUSION: We performed endoscopic ultrasonography and histopathological biopsy for the patient, and found that the "submucosal mass" was actually a gastric tuberculosis lesion. After confirming the diagnosis of gastric tuberculosis, we transferred the patient to a tuberculosis specialist hospital for antituberculosis treatment.Through a series of literature review, we rediscuss the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of gastric tuberculosis, aiming at improving the understanding of gastroenterologists to this disease, so as to timely diagnose and treat patients with gastric tuberculosis.

Extensively infarcted giant solitary hamartomatous polyp treated with endoscopic full-thickness resection: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Solitary hamartomatous polyps (SHPs) are rare lesions. Endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) is a highly efficient and minimally invasive endoscopic procedure that benefits from complete lesion removal and high safety. CASE SUMMARY: A 47-year-old man was admitted to our hospital after experiencing hypogastric pain and constipation for over fifteen days. Computed tomography and endoscopy revealed a giant pedunculated polyp (approximately 18 cm long) in the descending and sigmoid colon. This is the largest SHP reported to date. Having considered the condition of the patient and mass growth, the polyp was removed using EFTR. CONCLUSION: On the basis of clinical and pathological evaluations, the mass was considered an SHP.

Inhibition of LncRNA-NEAT1 alleviates intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) dysfunction in ulcerative colitis by maintaining the homeostasis of the glucose metabolism through the miR-410-3p-LDHA axis.

Dysfunction of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) leads to intestinal epithelial barrier damage and critically involves in the pathogenesis and development of ulcerative colitis (UC). Accumulating studies revealed essential functions of non-coding RNAs in UC. LncRNA NEAT1 (long non-coding RNA nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1) is frequently dysregulated in diverse human diseases. Currently, the precise roles of NEAT1 in the dysfunction of IECs during UC remain unclear. We report NEAT1 was significantly upregulated in IECs from UC patients. In addition, microRNA-410-3p was remarkedly suppressed in IECs from UC patients. Silencing NEAT1 effectively ameliorates the LPS-induced IECs dysfunction. Bioinformatical analysis, RNA pull-down and luciferase assays illustrated that NEAT1 sponged miR-410-3p to downregulate its expression in IECs. Interestingly, the glucose metabolism was obviously elevated in IECs from UC compared with normal colon tissues. Furthermore, NEAT1 promoted and miR-410-3p suppressed glucose metabolism of IECs. We identified lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), a glucose metabolism key enzyme, was a direct target of miR-410-3p in IECs. Rescue experiments verified that restoration of miR-410-3p in NEAT1-overexpressing IECs successfully overcame the NEAT1-promoted cell death under LPS treatment by targeting LDHA. In summary, these results unveiled new roles and molecular mechanisms for the NEAT1-mediated IECs dysfunction during the ulcerative colitis.

Comparison of short-term clinical outcomes between robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy and video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Though robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) is demonstrated to offer a better visualization and provide a fine dissection of the mediastinal structures to facilitate the complex thoracoscopic operation, the superiorities of RAMIE over MIE have not been well verified. The aim of this study was to explore the actual superiorities through comparing short-term results of RAMIE with that of MIE. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE and web of science databases were systematically searched up to September 1, 2020 for case-controlled studies that compared RAMIE with TLMIE. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were identified, with a total of 2,887 patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer, including 1,435 patients subjected to RAMIE group and 1,452 patients subjected to MIE group. The operative time in RAMIE was still significantly longer than that in MIE group (OR =0.785; 95% CI, 0.618-0.952; P<0.001). The incidence of pneumonia was significantly lower in RAMIE group compared with MIE group (OR =0.677; 95% CI, 0.468-0.979; P=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: RAMIE has the superiorities over MIE in short-term outcomes in terms of pneumonia and vocal cord palsy. Therefore, RAMIE could be considered as a standard treatment for patients with esophageal cancer.

Correlation between the rs7101 and rs1063169 polymorphisms in the FOS noncoding region and susceptibility to and prognosis of colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The FOS gene is located on human chromosome 14q21-31 and encodes the nuclear oncoprotein c-Fos. This study analyzed the correlation between the FOS noncoding region rs7101 and rs1063169 polymorphisms and colorectal cancer susceptibility and prognosis. METHODS: We analyzed the FOS genotypes in 432 colorectal cancer patients and 315 healthy subjects by PCR/Sanger sequencing. Survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analysis. Western blot was used to detect the expression of c-Fos protein in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues in colorectal cancer patients with different genotypes. RESULTS: The presence of a T allele at rs7101 and a T allele at rs1063169 in FOS carried a higher risk of colorectal cancer [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.237, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 1.131-1.346, P ≤ .001 and adjusted OR = 1.218, 95% CI = 1.111-1.327, P ≤ .001, respectively]. c-Fos protein levels were significantly higher in variant cancer tissues than in normal mucosa tissues (P < .05), and c-Fos proteins levels were also higher in homozygous variant cancer tissues than in heterozygous variant cancer tissues. The 3-year survival rate of patients with wild-type FOS was higher than that of patients with variant FOS (P < .05). CONCLUSION: The rs7101 and rs1063169 polymorphisms in the noncoding region of FOS are associated with the risk of developing colorectal cancer and the progression of colorectal cancer, which may be because the mutation enhances the expression of c-Fos protein to promote the incidence and development of colorectal cancer.

Effects of miR-9 and tetramethylpyrazine on activation of hepatic stellate cells.

Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are involved in regulation of the incidence and development of several hepatic diseases. Thus manipulating miRNAs may be a promising therapeutic strategy against these entities. In this study hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were transfected with hsa-miR-9 or anti-hsa-miR-9, treated with tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), or subjected to treatment with TMP and hsa-miR-9 transfection (combined treatment group). Then, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to measure mRNA levels of hsa-miR-9. Expression of hsa-miR-9 was highest in the combination treatment group compared with other groups, and significantly higher than TMP-treated and hsa-miR-9-transfected groups (both p<0.05). The anti-hsa-miR-9-transfected group expressed the lowest mRNA level of hsa-miR-9 with marked decrease versus control (p<0.05). Downstream factors that may be affected by miR-9 such as leptin, α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), and collagen I, as well as phosphorylation levels of Janus kinase 1 (JAK1)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) were investigated at the protein level. All these factors were regulated contrariwise to expression trends of hsa-miR-9, showing the lowest level in the combination treatment group and highest level in anti-hsa-miR-9-transfected group. These results suggest that both transfection of hsa-miR-9 and TMP can lead to upregulated endogenous expression of hsa-miR-9, inhibit activation of JAK1/STAT3 signal pathway induced by leptin, and lead to reduction of α-SMA and collagen I-thus impeding activation of HSC.

[Variation characteristics and calculation model of evapotranspiration in latored soils on hills].

The dynamic characteristics of evapotranspiration in latored soil on hills of subtropics regions in south China was analyzed. The results showed that evapotranspiration presented annual and seasonal fluctuations. The maximum monthly evapotranspiration was 10.80-15.41 times of the monthly minimum. The evapotranspiration in wet season (March to September) accounted for about 77% of annual total evapotranspiration, and that in dry season (October to February of next year) accounted for about 23%. Although the amount of annual rainfalls could balance annual total evapotranspiration, rainfalls were insufficient for evapotranspiration in the dry season, and soil water could be depleted by evapotranspiration. Based on the modified Penman equation, the calculation model of evapotranspiration in latored soil on hills of subtropics regions in south China was set up. By comparing modeling results with experimental data, it was proved that the calculation model was very reliable.