Dynamical evaluation of vaginal micro-ecosystem in a Chinese woman with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis.

We reported a rare case of recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) in this study. Through dynamic evaluation of the vaginal micro-ecosystem, we found that only depuratory degree, spores, blastospores, and hyphae were specific indicators and the "barometer" of RVVC development. Therefore, an understanding of vaginal micro-ecological changes can help clinicians to improve the treatment of patients with RVVC.

A 4-miRNAs signature predicts survival in glioblastoma multiforme patients.

BACKGROUND: Although O(6)-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status is an important marker for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), there is considerable variability in the clinical outcome of patients with similar methylation profles. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether a MicroRNA (miRNA) signature can be identified for predicting clinical outcomes and helping in treatment decisions. METHODS: The differentially expressed miRNAs were evaluated in 6 pairs of short- (⩽ 450 days) and long-term survivors (> 450 days) by using microarray. Real time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was applied to further verify screened miRNAs with a greater number of samples (n= 48). Meanwhile, functional interpretation of miRNA profile was carried out based on miRNA-target databases. In addition, MGMT promoter methylation status was tested by means of pyrosequencing (PSQ) testing. RESULTS: Six miRNAs were upregulated in the long-term survival group (fold change ⩾ 2.0, P< 0.05). The further verification by qRT-PCR indicated that the increase in let-7g-5p, miR-139-5p, miR-17-5p and miR-9-3p level in long-term survivors was statistically significant. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that high expression of a prognostic 4-miRNA signature was significantly associated with good patient survival (p= 0.0012). The signature regulated signaling pathways including Calcium, MAPK, ErbB, mTOR and cell cycle involved in carcinogenesis from glial progenitor cell to primary GBM. CONCLUSIONS: The 4-miRNA signature was identified as an independent prognostic biomarker that identified patients who have a favorable outcome.

Phoenixin-14 enhances memory and mitigates memory impairment induced by Aß1-42 and scopolamine in mice.

Phoenixin (PNX) is a recently discovered neuropeptide shown to be involved in regulating the reproductive system, anxiety-related behaviors and pain though its receptor is still unknown. PNX-14, one of the endogenous active isoforms, is reported to regulate gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor expression and GnRH secretion. Because GnRH system is thought to be involved in the regulation of learning and memory processes, we hypothesized that PNX-14 might be mediate learning and memory. Here, we investigated the effects of PNX-14 in memory processes, using novel object recognition (NOR) and object location recognition (OLR) tasks. Our results revealed that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of PNX-14 (25nmol) immediately after training not only facilitated memory formation, but also prolonged memory retention in both tasks. The memory-enhancing effects of PNX-14 were also seen when it was infused into the hippocampus. Moreover, these memory-improving effects of PNX-14 could be blocked by a GnRH receptor antagonist (Cetrorelix). The memory-improving effects of PNX-14 were not related to any effects on locomotor activity. Additionally, the results suggested that i.c.v. injection of PNX-14 mitigate the memory impairment induced by the amyloid-ß1-42 (Aß1-42) peptide and scopolamine. The present results indicate that PNX-14 facilitates memory formation and prolongs memory retention through activation of the GnRH receptor, and mitigates the memory-impairing effects of Aß1-42 and scopolamine, suggesting that PNX-14 may be effective as a drug for enhancing memory and treating Alzheimer׳s disease.