Burden and risk factors of invasive group B Streptococcus disease among neonates in a Chinese maternity hospital.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of data regarding the prevalence of invasive group B streptococcus (GBS) infection among neonates in China. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and mortality of invasive GBS infection and to identify the risk factors in our hospital. METHODS: Seventy-four cases admitted between January 2011 and December 2016 was included in this study. A retrospective matched case-control study was conducted in a tertiary maternity and paediatric hospital. Risk factors for the acquisition of invasive GBS infection and mortality were analysed by univariable and multivariable analysis. RESULTS: We collected and analysed data from 74 infants aged < 3 months with invasive GBS infection. Among 67,985 live births, we calculated an incidence of 1.09 per 1000 live births (95%CI:0.81-1.37%); the incidence of Early-onset GBS disease (EOD, n = 65) and Late-onset GBS disease (LOD, n = 9) were 0.96‰(95%CI:0.73-1.19%) and 0.13‰(95%CI:0.04-0.22%), respectively. Overall, pneumonia accounted 63.1% (41/65) of EOD, and sepsis accounted 88.9% (8/9) cases of LOD, respectively. The overall case fatality rate was 8.11% (6/74), including 7.69% (5/65) among cases of EOD and 11.1% (1/9) among cases of LOD. No predictor of mortality was found. Membrane stripping (P = 0.005, aOR: 3.68, 95% CI: 1.48-9.13) and non-resident mother (P < 0.001, aOR: 5.88, 95% CI: 2.36-14.61) were independent risk factors for EOD; no increased risk was found for LOD. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates remarkable country-specific variation in comparison with other countries. Our findings can improve awareness of neonatal GBS infection and lay a cornerstone to ensure accurate representation of the burden.

Human mitochondrial pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase 1 promotes invasiveness and impacts survival in breast cancers.

Human mitochondrial pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (PYCR) is a house-keeping enzyme that catalyzes the reduction of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate to proline. This enzymatic cycle plays pivotal roles in amino acid metabolism, intracellular redox potential and mitochondrial integrity. Here, we hypothesize that PYCR1 might be a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer. In this study, breast cancer tissue samples were obtained from Zhejiang University (ZJU set). Immunohistochemistry analysis was performed to detect the protein level of PYCR1, and Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional analyses were employed in this outcome study. The prognostic significance and performance of PYCR1 mRNA were validated on 13 worldwide independent microarray data sets, composed of 2500 assessable breast cancer cases. Our findings revealed that both PYCR1 mRNA and protein expression were significantly associated with tumor size, grade and invasive molecular subtypes of breast cancers. Independent and pooled analyses verified that higher PYCR1 mRNA levels were significantly associated with poor survival of breast cancer patients, regardless of estrogen receptor (ER) status. For in vitro studies, inhibition of PYCR1 by small-hairpin RNA significantly reduced the growth and invasion capabilities of the cells, while enhancing the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 (ER positive) and MDA-MB-231 (ER negative). Further population study also validated that chemotherapy significantly improved survival in early-stage breast cancer patients with low PYCR1 expression levels. Therefore, PYCR1 might serve as a prognostic biomaker for either ER-positive or ER-negative breast cancer subtypes and can also be a potential target for breast cancer therapy.

Inhibition of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) replication and antigen expression by Brucea javanica (L.) Merr. oil emulsion.

Introduction: The seeds of Brucea javanica (L.) Merr. (BJ) have been traditionally used to treat various types of cancers for many years in China. In this study, we systematically investigated a BJ oil emulsion (BJOE) produced from BJ seeds with the purpose of evaluating its antiviral effect against hepatitis B virus (HBV). Methods: HepG2.215 (a wild-type HBV cell line), HepG2, and Huh7, transfected with wildtype (WT) or lamivudine-resistance mutant (LMV-MT) HBV replicon plasmids, were treated with different doses of BJOE and then used for pharmacodynamic evaluation. Cell viability was determined using CCK8 assay. The levels of HBsAg/HBeAg in cell cultured supernatant, HBcAg in cell lysis solution, and HBV DNA in both were evaluated. Results: BJOE at ≤5 mg/ml was nontoxic to carcinoma cell lines, but could significantly inhibit WT/LMV-MT HBV replication and HBs/e/c antigen expression in a dose-dependent manner by upregulating interleukin-6 (IL-6), demonstrating that it possesses moderate anti-HBV activity. As one of the major components of BJOE, bruceine B was found to play a dominant role in IL-6 induction and HBV inhibition. Discussion: Our results demonstrated that BJOE suppressed HBV replication by stimulating IL-6, indicating that it has promising clinical therapeutic potential for both WT and LMV-MT HBV.

The effect of pre-operative autologous blood donation self-transfusion on hormone and postpartum convalescence in Lying-in women.

The aim of the study is to investigate the feasibility of pre-operative autologous blood donation (PABD) self-transfusion on the postpartum recovery and the endocrine in lying-in women. The PABD is carried out on 70 pregnant women who have high risk of postpartum hemorrhage. Those 70 subjects were divided into three groups: 33 cases of PABD self-transfusion during the Cesarean section; 16 cases of PABD self-transfusion as a physiological means and 21 cases without transfusion. Serum levels of Estradiol (E2), Progesterone (P), Prolactin (PRL) hormone are evaluated 48 hours before and after labor; Postpartum colostrum timing, milk yield, short term and long term uterine contraction are observed among the cases. No significance were observed among the three groups on E2, P, PRL hormone 48 hours before and after labor. The PRL concentration in PABD self-transfusion group is higher than that in the group without self-transfusion 48 hours after labor. Using different PABD self-transfusion strategies, significant difference of the initial milk yield time were observed in the three groups (F=6.035 P=0.004), but the milk yield is no significant different on second day and third day. The self-transfusion of PABD has little influence on uterine contraction. For the women who underwent Cesarean Section, the PABD self-transfusion is conducive to the increase of PRL level. The PABD self-transfusion advances the commencement time of milk yield, while with little effect on neither milk yield volume nor uterine contraction.