Cloning and expression analysis of PRL and PRLR genes in black Muscovy duck

1. Prolactin hormone (governed by the PRL gene) is secreted by the anterior pituitary of animals, which combines with its receptor (prolactin receptor, PRLR) to act on target cells. Both PRL and PRLR are mainly associated with reproductive performance. The genetic mechanism of nesting in poultry is not yet clear, and so the aim of the current study was to determine expression patterns of PRL and PRLR at different times across the breeding stages of black Muscovy ducks.2. In this study, the CDS regions of PRL and PRLR were determined by RACE sequencing. The expression levels of PRL and PRLR in the pituitary, ovary and uterus from the black Muscovy duck were compared and analysed during the pre-laying, laying and nesting periods.3. The results showed that PRL and PRLR are highly homologous in a variety of poultry species. The expression of the PRL gene in the pituitary was the highest, which was significantly higher than seen in the ovary and uterus. This trend ran through the entire prenatal period, i.e. the laying period and the nesting period. The expression level of the PRLR gene in the pituitary and ovary was generally low, and expression in the uterus was the highest. There was no significant difference in expression of the PRLR gene between pituitary and ovary during different periods, but the expression level of the PRLR gene in the uterus reached its highest level during the nesting stage, which was significantly higher than seen in the early laying period.

[Brain protection strategy and effectivity in pulmonary thromboendarterectomy]

Objective: To summarize the experience and effectivity of brain protection in 25 patients who suffered from chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and received pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) under deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 25 PTE surgeries in our center from December 2016 to August 2018. All cases were completed underdeep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Standard brain protections were strictly executed, including: balanced and controlled extracorporeal circulation cooling, cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO(2)) monitoring, strictly control of circulatory arrest time, and etc. The neurological adverse events during the perioperative period were recorded and statistically analyzed, and the intelligence level and cognitive function of the patients were evaluated by MMSE scale and MoCA scale before surgery and discharge. Results: All the 25 patients successfully completed the surgery, and 1 patient (4%) died of postoperative infection. The mean pulmonary arterial pressure decreased from (52.9±16.7) mmHg before surgery to (23.6±8.1) mmHg immediately after surgery (t=10.01, P<0.01), and(20.7±7.9) mmHg at 3 months follow-up (t=10.73, P<0.01). Pulmonary vascular resistance decreased from 975.4 (788.6-1 292.8) dyn·s·cm(-5) to 376.1 (283.6-565.5) dyn·s·cm(-5) (Z=5.34, P<0.01). Neurological complications occurred in 3 patients during the perioperative period, including 2 patients with hypoxic encephalopathy, and 1 patient with cerebral hemorrhage. All 3 patients fully recovered before discharge. Univariate analysis showed that the duration of rSO(2)<40% and the maximum decrease rate of rSO(2) from baseline were significantly correlated with postoperative neurological damage. Multivariate analysis showed only time of rSO(2)<40% was significantly correlated with postoperative neurological damage. There was no significant difference in MMSE and MoCA score before and after surgery (P>0.05). Conclusions: Adequate brain protection measures are essential to reduce the neurological complications of PTE surgery. Real-time intraoperative monitoring of rSO(2) and strict control of circulatory arrest time can further reduce the occurrence of neurological damage.

The histone H3 lysine-27 demethylase UTX plays a critical role in colorectal cancer cell proliferation

Background

Ubiquitously transcribed tetratricopeptide repeat, X chromosome (UTX) is an H3K27me3 demethylase, a permissive mark associated with active gene transcription. UTX has been linked to various human cancers. Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks 3rd among the most common cancers worldwide. However, the role of UTX in colorectal cancer has rarely been reported.

Methods

RT-qPCR, immunoblotting assays (WB), and immunohistochemistry staining were conducted to explore the UTX expression levels in CRC tissues and surrounding normal tissues. CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays, and flow cytometry were also used to determine the potential role of UTX in CRC cell proliferation in vitro. A cell line-derived xenograft model was performed to determine on the role of UTX in HCT116 cell proliferation in vivo. The protein expression levels of UTX, KIF14, AKT, and GAPDH were examined by WB.

Results

Compared with surrounding normal tissues, UTX was upregulated in CRC tissues. Knockdown of UTX significantly inhibited proliferation and caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in CRC cell lines, and overexpression of UTX significantly promoted proliferation in CRC cells. Furthermore, knockdown of UTX significantly inhibited tumour growth in vivo. In addition, knockdown of UTX decreased the expression of KIF14 and pAKT and increased the expression of P21.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that knockdown of UTX inhibits CRC cell proliferation and causes G0/G1 cell cycle arrest through downregulating expression of KIF 14 and pAKT. Thus, UTX may serve as a novel biomarker in CRC.

Effective Dimensionality Reduction for Visualizing Neural Dynamics by Laplacian Eigenmaps

With the development of neural recording technology, it has become possible to collect activities from hundreds or even thousands of neurons simultaneously. Visualization of neural population dynamics can help neuroscientists analyze large-scale neural activities efficiently. In this letter, Laplacian eigenmaps is applied to this task for the first time, and the experimental results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms the commonly used methods. This finding was confirmed by the systematic evaluation using nonhuman primate data, which contained the complex dynamics well suited for testing. According to our results, Laplacian eigenmaps is better than the other methods in various ways and can clearly visualize interesting biological phenomena related to neural dynamics.

Neural stem cells promote glioblastoma formation in nude mice

PURPOSE

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been characterized with the ability of self-renewal and neurogenesis, which has inspired lots of studies to clarify the functions of NSCs in neural injury, ischemic stroke, brain inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. We focused on the relationship of NSCs with glioblastoma, since we have discovered that recurrent glioblastomas were inclined to be derived from subventricular zone (SVZ), where NSCs reside. We want to clarify whether NSCs are involved in glioblastoma relapse.

METHODS

Immunocytochemistry was used to confirm the stemness of NSCs. The Cell Counting Kit-8 was used to measure the proliferation of cells. Migration abilities were examined by wound healing and transwell assays, and tumor formation abilities were confirmed in nude mice.

RESULTS

We found in experiments that NSCs promoted proliferation of a glioblastoma cell line-Ln229, the migration ability of Ln229 cells was motivated by co-cultured with NSCs. Tumor formation of Ln229 cells was also accelerated in nude mice when co-transplanted with NSCs. In immunohistochemistry, we found that the Sox2- and Ki67-positive cells were much higher in co-transplanted groups than that of control groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These results imply the potential role that NSCs play in speeding up tumor formation in the process of glioblastoma relapse, providing the basis for dealing with newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients, which may help postpone the recurrence of glioblastoma as far as possible through preprocessing the tumor-adjacent SVZ tissue.

Abstract P6-02-14: Not presented

This abstract was not presented at the conference.

Citation Format: Xing W, Li Q, Sun G, Cao R, Chen B, Jiang C, Ma L, Wang K. Not presented [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-02-14.

Abstract P2-01-25: Not presented

This abstract was not presented at the conference.

Citation Format: Xing W, Li Q, Cao R, Sun G, Jiang C. Not presented [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-01-25.

The clinical significance of perineural invasion in patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

The clinical value of perineural invasion (PNI) in patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa) is widely explored. However, its role in metastatic PCa (mPCa) remains unknown.

OBJECTIVES

We aim to investigate the clinical significance of PNI in patients with mPCa.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data of 515 mPCa patients between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively studied. PNI and its intensity were identified by prostate biopsy. The prognostic value of PNI was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional-hazards model.

RESULTS

Perineural invasion was detected in 170/515 (33.0%) cases. Among them 73/170 (42.9%) and 97/170 (57.1%) harbored unifocal PNI (uni-PNI) and multifocal PNI (multi-PNI), respectively. Compared to patients without PNI, those with PNI had statistically shorter castration-resistant PCa-free survival (CFS) and numerically shorter overall survival (OS) (mCFS: 15.4- vs. 18.5-Mo, p = 0.015; mOS: 63.8- vs. 71.4-Mo, p = 0.108). Patients harboring multi-PNI were associated with poorer clinical outcomes than those with uni-PNI (mCFS: 12.4- vs. 18.0-Mo, p = 0.040; mOS: 39.7-Mo vs. NR, p = 0.018) or those without PNI (mCFS: 12.4- vs. 18.5-Mo, p = 0.002; mOS: 39.7- vs. 71.4-Mo, p = 0.002). Totally, neither uni-PNI nor multi-PNI was an independent risk factor impacting survival outcomes in multivariate analyses. While remarkably, for patients with favorable/intermediate-risk mPCa, multi-PNI was an independent adverse prognosticator for both CFS and OS (CFS: HR: 1.705, 95% CI: 1.029-2.825, p = 0.038; OS: HR: 3.294, 95% CI: 1.464-7.413, p = 0.004).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study filled the blank of the clinical significance of PNI in mPCa. We found that multi-PNI could distinguish men with relatively poor prognosis from patients initially regarded as with favorable survival outcomes by other prognosticators, and thus, avoid disease underestimation in this group of patients. Our finding would help physicians have a deeper understanding of the heterogeneity of mPCa and make better individualized therapeutic strategy.

Comparative analysis of the blood transcriptomes between wolves and dogs

Dogs were domesticated by human and originated from wolves. Their evolutionary relationships have attracted much scientific interest due to their genetic affinity but different habitats. To identify the differences between dogs and wolves associated with domestication, we analysed the blood transcriptomes of wolves and dogs by RNA-Seq. We obtained a total of 30.87 Gb of raw reads from two dogs and three wolves using RNA-Seq technology. Comparisons of the wolf and dog transcriptomes revealed 524 genes differentially expressed genes between them. We found that some genes related to immune function (DCK, ICAM4, GAPDH and BSG) and aerobic capacity (HBA1, HBA2 and HBB) were more highly expressed in the wolf. Six differentially expressed genes related to the innate immune response (CCL23, TRIM10, DUSP10, RAB27A, CLEC5A and GCH1) were found in the wolf by a Gene Ontology enrichment analysis. Immune system development was also enriched only in the wolf group. The ALAS2, HMBS and FECH genes, shown to be enriched by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, were associated with the higher aerobic capacity and hypoxia endurance of the wolf. The results suggest that the wolf might have greater resistance to pathogens, hypoxia endurance and aerobic capacity than dogs do.

Clinical Complications of Combined Phacoemulsification and Vitrectomy for Eyes with Coexisting Cataract and Vitreoretinal Diseases

Purpose

To discuss the intraoperative and postoperative complications of combining phacoemulsification and foldable intraocular lens (IOL) implantation with pars plana vitrectomy in eyes with significant cataract and coexisting vitreoretinal diseases.

Methods

This retrospective study consisted of 186 eyes of 149 patients with various vitreoretinal abnormalities and visually significant cataracts. Vitreoretinal surgery was combined with clear corneal phacoemulsification and foldable IOL implantation. Main outcome measures were the intraoperative and postoperative complications at from 6 to 56 months.

Results

The most common intraoperative complication was iatrogenic retinal hole (5.3%), transient corneal edema (3.2%), and posterior capsule break (2.1%). The most common postoperative complication was posterior capsule opacification (21.5%) and elevated intraocular pressure (9.7%), macular edema (8.1%), fibrinous reaction (6.9%), vitreous hemorrhage (3.7%), posterior synechiae (3.7%), and recurrent retinal detachment (3.2%). Postoperatively, in 162 eyes (87.1%), visual acuity improved by 3 lines or more on the Snellen chart. In 14 eyes (7.5%), vision remained within 3 lines of preoperative levels and in 10 eyes (5.3%), vision had decreased at the last follow-up.

Conclusions

Postoperative complications did not increase significantly in the combined phacoemulsification and vitreoretinal surgery. Combined vitreoretinal surgery and phacoemulsification with foldable IOL implantation is safe and effective in treating vitreoretinal abnormalities coexisting with cataract. Based on extensive experience with the combined procedure, the authors suggest that combined surgery is recommended in select patients having simultaneous vitreoretinal pathologic changes and cataract.

Taurine attenuates acrylamide-induced apoptosis via a PI3K/AKT-dependent manner

As a potent neurotoxic agent, acrylamide (ACR) is formed in food processing at higher temperature. Taurine (TAU), a nonessential amino acid, is used to cure neurodegenerative disorders, followed by activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway. In this article, we certified that antiapoptotic efficacy of TAU in vivo and vitro. ACR-treated rats received TAU by drinking water 2 weeks after ACR intoxication. The results showed that in treated rats, TAU alleviated ACR-induced neuronal apoptosis, which was associated with the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. TAU attenuated apoptosis caused by ACR through observing terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive cells, measure of protein expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase 3 activity. TAU-induced antiapoptotic effect is PI3K/AKT-dependent, which was proved in ACR-intoxicated ventral spinal cord 4.1 cells in the presence of AKT inhibitor, MK-2206. Therefore, our results demonstrated that TAU-attenuated ACR-induced apoptosis in vivo through a PI3K/AKT-dependent manner provided new sights in the molecular mechanism of TAU protection against ACR-induced neurotoxicity.

RNA-sequencing study of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in sporadic Ménière's disease patients: possible contribution of immunologic dysfunction to the development of this disorder

To date, the pathogenesis of Ménière's disease (MD) remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the possible relationship between potential immune system-related genes and sporadic MD. The whole RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) technology was used to analyse the transcriptome of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of three MD patients and three control individuals. Of 366 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 154 genes were up-regulated and 212 genes were down-regulated (|log₂ fold change| > 1 and P < 0·05). Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis illustrated that immune relevant factors played a key role in the pathogenesis of MD. Of 366 DEGs, we focused upon analysing the possible immune-related genes, among which the significantly up-regulated genes [glutathione S-transferase mu 1 (GSTM1), transmembrane protein 176 (TMEM176)B, TMEM176A] and down-regulated genes [solute carrier family 4 member (SLC4A)10 and SLC4A1] especially drew our attention. The mRNA expression levels of GSTM1, TMEM176B, TMEM176A, SLC4A1 and SLC4A10 were analysed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The serum concentration of GSTM1, TMEM176B and SLC4A10 proteins were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Considering the results of qRT-PCR and ELISA, it was noteworthy that GSTM1 exhibited the highest fold change between two groups, which was consistent with the deep sequencing results by RNA-seq. In conclusion, our study first offers a new perspective in MD development on the basis of RNA expression patterns, suggesting that immune factors might be involved in the MD pathogenesis. Remarkably, GSTM1 might be a possible candidate gene for the diagnostic biomarker of MD and provides the basis for further biological and functional investigations.

Effect of VEGF on neuronal degeneration and interaction between Alzheimer's disease biomarkers

The article "Effect of VEGF on neuronal degeneration and interaction between Alzheimer's disease biomarkers" by H.-C. Yuan, C.-W. Jiang, L.-Y. Hou, Y.-B. Lv, X.-Z. Feng, L.-F. Guo, G. Sun, K. Liu, Y.-J. Liu, B. Xu, C.-Y. Wang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2017; 21 (16): 3649-3657 has been withdrawn.

Long-term blood glucose monitoring with implanted telemetry device in conscious and stress-free cynomolgus monkeys

AIMS

Continuous blood glucose monitoring, especially long-term and remote, in diabetic patients or research is very challenging. Nonhuman primate (NHP) is an excellent model for metabolic research, because NHPs can naturally develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) similarly to humans. This study was to investigate blood glucose changes in conscious, moving-free cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) during circadian, meal, stress and drug exposure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Blood glucose, body temperature and physical activities were continuously and simultaneously recorded by implanted HD-XG telemetry device for up to 10 weeks.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Blood glucose circadian changes in normoglycemic monkeys significantly differed from that in diabetic animals. Postprandial glucose increase was more obvious after afternoon feeding. Moving a monkey from its housing cage to monkey chair increased blood glucose by 30% in both normoglycemic and diabetic monkeys. Such increase in blood glucose declined to the pre-procedure level in 30 min in normoglycemic animals and >2 h in diabetic monkeys. Oral gavage procedure alone caused hyperglycemia in both normoglycemic and diabetic monkeys. Intravenous injection with the stress hormones, angiotensin II (2 μg/kg) or norepinephrine (0.4 μg/kg), also increased blood glucose level by 30%. The glucose levels measured by the telemetry system correlated significantly well with glucometer readings during glucose tolerance tests (ivGTT or oGTT), insulin tolerance test (ITT), graded glucose infusion (GGI) and clamp.

CONCLUSION

Our data demonstrate that the real-time telemetry method is reliable for monitoring blood glucose remotely and continuously in conscious, stress-free, and moving-free NHPs with the advantages highly valuable to diabetes research and drug discovery.

MiR-222 promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells by targeting ETS1

OBJECTIVE

The lung adenocarcinoma is a type of lung cancer. This research is to investigate the effects of miR-222 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of the lung adenocarcinoma cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

At the beginning, MiR-222 and the controls were transfected to the lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 for CCK-8 proliferation, transwell migration and Matrigel invasion, and then observed the effect of miR-222 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells. The miR-222 target was regulated by ETS1 downwards to participate in the regulation of the process by using the luciferase reporter assay, the Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and the Western blotting.

RESULTS

According to CCK-8 proliferation assay, the Transwell migration and the Matrigel invasion assay, it discovered that MiR-222 can promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of the lung adenocarcinoma cells. Luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR and Western blot assay showed that miR-222 could regulate the expression of ETS1 downwards and ETS1 participated in the regulation of the process CONCLUSIONS: ETS1 promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells by targeting the regulated miR-222 downwards.

Strain softening of nano-scale fuzzy interfaces causes Mullins effect in thermoplastic polyurethane

The strain-induced softening of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs), known as the Mullins effect, arises from their multi-phase structure. We used the combination of small- and wide- angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) during in situ repeated tensile loading to elucidate the relationship between molecular architecture, nano-strain, and macro-scale mechanical properties. Insights obtained from our analysis highlight the importance of the ‘fuzzy interface’ between the hard and soft regions that governs the structure evolution at nanometre length scales and leads to macroscopic stiffness reduction. We propose a hierarchical Eshelby inclusion model of phase interaction mediated by the ‘fuzzy interface’ that accommodates the nano-strain gradient between hard and soft regions and undergoes tension-induced softening, causing the Mullins effect that becomes apparent in TPUs even at moderate tensile strains.

Her-2 expression regulated by downregulation of miR-9 and which affects chemotherapeutic effect in breast cancer

This study aimed to identify microRNAs (miRs), the deregulated expression of which leads to the activation of oncogenic pathways in human breast cancer (BC). miRs are classes of endogenous, small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression aberrantly in human tumor tissues. A total of 39 out of 123 tumoral and matched uninvolved peritumoral breast specimens from 3 independent subsets of patients were analyzed for the expression of 851 human miRs using an Agilent platform. The remaining 84 samples were used to validate miRs differentially expressed between tumoral and matched peritumoral specimens by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Animal assay was further used to test the role of miR-9 and Her-2 in the pathogenesis of BC. All 39 matched samples were analyzed by unsupervised cluster analysis. This analytical approach identified a signature of miRs (miR-9, miR-148a, miR-31, miR-375, miR-21, miR-135b, miR-196a and miR-196b) that were significantly modulated between tumoral and peritumoral tissues in both subsets of patients. Her-2 protein staining increased in tumoral specimens when miR-9 downregulation correlated with the prognostic value. The ectopic expression of miR-9 inhibited the colony-forming ability, migration and tumor engraftment of BC cells. miR-9 targeted the Her-2 messenger RNA and increased responsiveness of BC cells to docetaxel (DOC) or cyclophosphamide treatment. The ectopic expression of Her-2 protein counteracted the miR-9 proapoptotic activity in response to DOC. These findings suggested that the modulation of aberrant expression of miR-9, which in turn induces oncogenic Her-2 protein activity, might hold promise for preventive and therapeutic management of BC.

Geographical and ethnic distribution of MTHFR gene polymorphisms and their associations with diseases among Chinese population

Numerous studies have investigated the distribution of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C polymorphisms and their associations with diseases in China. In this study we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of these studies (715 eligible studies in total).Results revealed that the frequencies of the MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms varied markedly in different areas and ethnicities, and even showed geographical gradients. The MTHFR C677T polymorphism was significantly associated with 42 clinical disorders (p < 0.05), mostly relating to the diseases of circulatory system, birth defects and cancers. The association of the A1298C polymorphism with three diseases (coronary heart disease, breast cancer and neural tube defects fathers) was statistically significant (p < 0.05). However, according to the Venice criteria, only the associations of the C677T polymorphism with breast and ovarian cancers were assessed as having strong epidemiological credibility. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current status and gaps in genetic epidemiological study of the two polymorphisms in China, and its findings may be useful for medical and public health practices. Future studies are warranted to focus on the interactions of MTHFR genes with environmental exposure and with other genes, and to improve their methodological quality and reporting of findings.

Factors affecting the quality of life among Chinese rural general residents: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

The brief version of the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) is widely used for evaluating the personal subjective quality of life (QOL) of patients and particular populations. However, in the absence of sufficient studies among the general population, normative data for WHOQOL-BREF remain scarce. To fill this gap, the present study explored more sociodemographic and health-related factors affecting the QOL.

STUDY DESIGN

In total, 11,351 participants aged ≥35 years in rural areas of Liaoning Province were screened with a stratified cluster multistage sampling scheme in 2012-2013. Anthropometric measurements, laboratory examinations, and self-reported information on disease history were collected by trained personnel. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

METHODS

Stepwise multiple linear regression was used to explore the association between multiple factors and QOL.

RESULTS

Females and single/widowed subjects had lower QOL scores than males and married/cohabiting subjects, respectively. Total QOL scores and scores for each domain decreased as age increased, but a positive correlation was found between age and the environmental domain score. Participants with higher annual incomes, education levels, and activity levels had higher QOL scores. In the regression model, the coefficient for stroke was -2.17 (95% confidence interval [CI] -2.64, -1.71) for the total QOL score. For a one-level increase in depression level, the total QOL score decreased by 5.62 (95% CI -5.83 to -5.42), physical domain score decreased by 1.63 (95% CI -1.69 to -1.58), and psychological domain score decreased by 1.81 (95% CI -1.87 to -1.75).

CONCLUSIONS

Socio-economic status including marital status is highly related to QOL. Regarding chronic diseases, stroke is an important factor of QOL and depressive symptoms have a strong negative relationship with QOL.

[Effects of different carbohydrates on the simulation of human intestinal bacterial flora with in vitro culture]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the optimal growth condition of human fecal bacterial flora in vitro by comparing the effect of different carbohydrates as cultural media.

METHODS

Three fecal samples (1, 2, 3) were collected and inoculated into a single-stage chemostat system, in which starch medium (VI) and starch polysaccharide medium(XP) were used. Samples were collected for bacterial genomic DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis. Bacterial composition and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) were then analyzed.

RESULTS

The single stage chemostat system reached steady after operating 8 days, when evaluated by the PCR-DGGE. Bacterial 16s rRNA high-throughput sequencing showed that the intestinal bacteria of these three volunteers was mainly composed of four bacterial phyla, namely, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. When the influence of bacterial abundance was considered, the similarity of bacterial composition between the original fecal samples to the harvested flora after culture was 0.847, 0.825, 0.968 in VI medium and 0.927, 0.926, 0.836 in XP medium, respectively. The similarity was decreased to 0.553, 0.580, 0.623 with VI medium and 0.617, 0.520, 0.574 with XP medium, when the number of bacterial species was considered. The variation of host individual also influenced the simulation. VI medium favored fecal sample 3, while XP medium more benefited sample 1 and 2. Bacteroides and Lachnospiraceae_incertae_sedis grew in both VI and XP medium. However, some species were only detected in VI medium and some were specifically found in the XP medium. The SCFA concentration in fermenters was 15-35 mmol/L, mainly propionate and butyrate.

CONCLUSIONS

The chemostat system works for stimulating human gut bacterial flora in vitro. The bacterial composition is affected by different carbohydrate in the culture medium yet with close simulation higher than 80%.