Down-regulation of fibronectin and the correlated expression of neuroligin in hirschsprung disease

AIM

The goal of this study was to investigate the expression of fibronectin (FN) and the correlated abundance of neuroligins (NLs) in the enteric nervous system (ENS) and to find a novel diagnostic marker in the serum of Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) patients.

METHODS

The expression levels of FN, neuroligin-1 and neuroligin-2 were detected in 114 children with or without HSCR. The expression and localization of the NLs and FN were assessed morphologically by immunohistochemical staining. Western blot analysis and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) were performed to examine the correlated expression of the NLs and FN in aganglionic, transitional, and normal ganglionic colon tissues. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to evaluate and compare serum FN levels between HSCR and non-HSCRand between long-type HSCR and short-type HSCR.

RESULTS

These studies showed that both neuroligin-1 and neuroligin-2 were expressed at low levels in aganglionic segments and at intermediate levels in transitional segments compared to their high level of expression in normal tissue. In contrast, FN expression was negatively correlated, with expression in these three samples transitioning from highest to lowest. The serum FN level was higher in HSCR than in non-HSCR, but no significant difference between short-type HSCR and long-type HSCR was observed.

CONCLUSION

FN affects the expression of both neuroligin-1 and neuroligin-2 in HSCR, which may lead to the hypoplasia of ganglion cells in the ENS. This correlation may play a key role in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, or classification of HSCR.

Preventive effects of Polygonum multiflorum on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in rats

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Polygonum multiflorum (PM) is known for its anti-aging properties. A previous study by our group showed that extracts of PM were able to prevent and treat bone loss in vivo, and the active components emodin and 2,3,5,4,-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-glucoside (TSG) promoted the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. The aim of the present study was to investigate the preventive effects of PM on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) in rats. A crude extract of PM was prepared with 75% ethanol, purified and enriched using a D-101 macroresin column and elution with 30% ethanol, and the material obtained was assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Male or female Sprague Dawley rats (n=180) were randomly divided into nine groups: Control, prednisone, prednisone plus calcitriol (CAL), prednisone plus 30% ethanolic eluate of PM [high (H), medium (M) and low (L) dose] and prednisone plus crude extract of PM (H, M and L dose). Prednisone was orally administered to the osteoporosis model rats for 21 weeks, alongside which they received PM extracts. The weight of the viscera, anterior tibial muscle and other tissues was recorded at the end of the experiment. The femur and lumbar vertebra were collected for the measurement of three-dimensional microarchitecture by micro-computed tomography scanning, assessment of biomechanical properties and determination of bone mineral density (BMD). In the 30% ethanolic eluate of the PM extract, the content of TSG and combined anthraquinone was 9.20 and 0.15%, respectively, and that in the crude extract of PM was 2.23 and 0.03%, respectively. Over 6 weeks, the weight of the rats the in prednisone group decreased (P<0.05), while the weight of rats treated with M and H doses of 30% ethanolic eluate was increased compared with that in the prednisone group (P<0.05). Rats exposed to prednisone exhibited a deteriorated bone microarchitecture, low BMD, decreased bone volume/total volume and poor biomechanical properties. Furthermore, the weight of the adrenal gland and the anterior tibial muscle was decreased. 30% ethanolic eluate of PM at M and L doses and crude extract of PM at the H dose counteracted the alterations of skeletal and other characteristics induced by prednisone in rats, as did CAL. In conclusion, extracts of PM exerted a protective effect on bone tissue in GIO rats.

[Lateral semicircular canal cupulolithiasis in children: a case report]

We report a case of lateral semicircular canal cupulolithiasis in a 12 years old child. He presented to ENT clinic due to vertigo and nausea for 4 hours. Roll test showed strong apogeotropic nystagmus for about 70 seconds when roll to the left recumbent position. The right lateral semicircular canal cupulolithiasis was diagnosed. The child was treated with the Li's quick repositioning maneuver and the vertigo was disappeared. His symptoms did not occurred after 6 months follow-up.

Bone mass loss is associated with systolic blood pressure in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes in Tibet: a retrospective cross-sectional study

We conducted an observational cross-section study to investigate the status of bone mineral mass of Tibetan postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes and the possible predictors for osteoporosis. We found that prevalence of osteoporosis was 27.0% and blood pressure was an independent risk factor for bone mass loss.

INTRODUCTION

The aims of this study is to investigate the prevalence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes dwelling in Tibet and the possible risk factors for bone mass loss.

METHODS

We recruited 99 Chinese Tibetan postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes from the department of endocrinology of People's Hospital Tibet Autonomous Region. Multiple sites of bone mineral density (BMD) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The subjects were divided into three groups based on BMD T-score: osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal. The clinical characteristics were compared between groups. The risk factors for bone mass loss were assessed by multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

Among diabetic postmenopausal women dwelling in high altitude, mean age was 62 ± 8 years, the median postmenopausal period was 12 years (5, 20), the median duration of diabetes mellitus was 3 years (1, 8), and mean BMI was 27.6 ± 4.2 kg/m². Patients (52.5%) had hypertension. The percentages of patients with osteoporosis, osteopenia and normal BMD were 27.3, 42.4, and 30.3%, respectively. HbA1c and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were independently associated with T-scores of spine; ages and SBP were independently associated with T-scores of femoral neck or hip.

CONCLUSIONS

Among diabetic postmenopausal women dwelling in high altitude, 27.3% patients have osteoporosis, 42.4% patients have osteopenia, and 30.3% are normal. The BMD T-score of spine was inversely associated with SBP and positively associated with HbA1c, while the BMD T-score of femoral neck or hip was inversely associated with ages and SBP.

Embedding and Chemical Reactivation of Green Fluorescent Protein in the Whole Mouse Brain for Optical Micro-Imaging

Resin embedding has been widely applied to fixing biological tissues for sectioning and imaging, but has long been regarded as incompatible with green fluorescent protein (GFP) labeled sample because it reduces fluorescence. Recently, it has been reported that resin-embedded GFP-labeled brain tissue can be imaged with high resolution. In this protocol, we describe an optimized protocol for resin embedding and chemical reactivation of fluorescent protein labeled mouse brain, we have used mice as experiment model, but the protocol should be applied to other species. This method involves whole brain embedding and chemical reactivation of the fluorescent signal in resin-embedded tissue. The whole brain embedding process takes a total of 7 days. The duration of chemical reactivation is ~2 min for penetrating 4 μm below the surface in the resin-embedded brain. This protocol provides an efficient way to prepare fluorescent protein labeled sample for high-resolution optical imaging. This kind of sample was demonstrated to be imaged by various optical micro-imaging methods. Fine structures labeled with GFP across a whole brain can be detected.

Autophagy Is a Protective Response to the Oxidative Damage to Endplate Chondrocytes in Intervertebral Disc: Implications for the Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar Disc

Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability in the elderly. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) was considered as the main cause for LBP. Degeneration of cartilaginous endplate was a crucial harmful factor during the initiation and development of IDD. Oxidative stress was implicated in IDD. However, the underlying molecular mechanism for the degeneration of cartilaginous endplate remains elusive. Herein, we found that oxidative stress could induce apoptosis and autophagy in endplate chondrocytes evidenced by western blot analysis, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence staining, GFP-LC3B transfection, and MDC staining. In addition, we also found that the apoptosis of endplate chondrocytes was significantly increased after the inhibition of autophagy by bafilomycin A1 shown by flow cytometry. Furthermore, mTOR pathway upstream autophagy was greatly suppressed suggested by western blot assay. In conclusion, our study strongly revealed that oxidative stress could increase autophagy and apoptosis of endplate chondrocytes in intervertebral disc. The increase of autophagy activity could prevent endplate chondrocytes from apoptosis. The autophagy in endplate chondrocytes induced by oxidative stress was mTOR dependent. These findings might shed some new lights on the mechanism for IDD and provide new strategies for the treatments of IDD.

Intensity modulated radiotherapy and brachytherapy for a cervical cancer after renal transplantation

Radiotherapy and surgery are important radical treatment options for cervical cancer, but the presence of a pelvic kidney complicates the situation. Fine radiation technique can help avoiding side effects. Radiation to the modified pelvis using intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) followed by brachytherapy, while avoiding the renal allograft is technically feasible which ensures adequate target volume and reduces side effects. Here, the authors report a 45-year-old patient with invasive cervical cancer with a pelvic kidney who was treated by pelvic IMRT in combination with high-dose rate brachytherapy. There was no evidence of disease and with normal kidney function currently at 12 months.

Combined QSAR-based virtual screening and fluorescence binding assay to identify natural product mediators of Interferon Regulatory Factor 7 (IRF-7) in pulmonary infection

Interferon regulatory factor-7 (IRF-7) is involved in pulmonary infection and pneumonia. Here, a synthetic strategy that combined quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR)-based virtual screening and in vitro binding assay was described to identify new and potent mediator ligands of IRF-7 from natural products. In the procedure, a QSAR scoring function was developed and validated using Gaussian process (GP) regression and a structure-based set of protein-ligand affinity data. By integrating hotspot pocket prediction, pharmacokinetics profile analysis and molecular docking calculations, the scoring function was successfully applied to virtual screening against a large library of structurally diverse, drug-like natural products. With the method we were able to identify a number of potential hits, from which several compounds were found to have moderate or high affinity to IRF-7 using fluorescence binding assays, with dissociation constants K_d at micromolar level. We have also examined the structural basis and noncovalent interactions of computationally modelled IRF-7 complex with its potent ligands. It is revealed that hydrophobic forces and van der Waals contacts play a central role in stabilization of the complex architecture, while few hydrogen bonds confer additional specificity for the protein-ligand recognition.

MiR-4500 is epigenetically downregulated in colorectal cancer and functions as a novel tumor suppressor by regulating HMGA2

This study aimed to understand the exact function and potential mechanism of miR-4500 in colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, the expression of miR-4500 was decreased in both CRC cells and tissues, and downregulated miR-4500 indicated advanced tumor stage and poor survival. By bisulfite sequencing analysis, we found that the CpG island in the promoter region of miR-4500 was hypermethylated in CRC cells and tissues compared with normal control cells and non-tumor tissues, respectively. Functionally, gain- and loss-of-function analyses indicated the tumor suppressor role of miR-4500: it suppressed cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, migration, and invasion. Predictive algorithms and experimental analyses identified HMGA2 as a direct target of miR-4500. Reintroducing HMGA2 impaired the inhibitory effects of miR-4500 on cell growth and motility. Clinically, higher HMGA2 protein expression in CRC tissues was associated with advanced tumor stage and poor survival. An inverse correlation was found between miR-4500 levels and HMGA2 protein expression. Taken together, this study provides the first evidence that miR-4500 functions as a novel tumor suppressor in the miR-4500/HMGA2 axis in colorectal carcinogenesis, and restoring miR-4500 expression might represent a promising therapeutic strategy for CRC.

Efficacy and safety of liraglutide versus sitagliptin, both in combination with metformin, in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes: a 26-week, open-label, randomized, active comparator clinical trial

AIMS

To compare the efficacy and safety of liraglutide versus sitagliptin as add-on to metformin after 26 weeks of treatment in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS

This 26-week open-label, active comparator trial (NCT02008682) randomized patients (aged 18-80 years) with T2DM inadequately controlled with metformin [glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 7.0-10.0% (53-86 mmol/mol)] 1 : 1 to once-daily subcutaneously administered liraglutide 1.8 mg (n = 184) or once-daily oral sitagliptin 100 mg (n = 184), both as add-on to metformin. The primary endpoint was change in HbA1c from baseline to week 26.

RESULTS

Liraglutide was superior to sitagliptin in reducing HbA1c from baseline [8.1% (65 mmol/mol)] to 26 weeks, as evidenced by estimated mean HbA1c change of -1.65% (-18.07 mmol/mol) versus -0.98% (-10.72 mmol/mol), respectively [estimated treatment difference for liraglutide vs sitagliptin of -0.67% (95% CI -0.86, -0.48) or -7.35 mmol/mol (95% CI -9.43; -5.26); p < 0.0001]. More patients receiving liraglutide (76.5%) than sitagliptin (52.6%) achieved the HbA1c target of <7.0% (53 mmol/mol) at week 26 [odds ratio 3.65 (95% CI 2.18, 6.12); p < 0.0001]. Reductions in fasting plasma glucose, 7-point self-measured plasma glucose and body weight were greater with liraglutide than with sitagliptin (p < 0.0001 for all). More patients experienced nausea (14.8% vs 0.5%), diarrhoea (8.2% vs 2.2%) and decreased appetite (10.9% vs 0.5%) with liraglutide than sitagliptin. Two hypoglycaemic episodes were confirmed for liraglutide and one for sitagliptin; none were severe or nocturnal.

CONCLUSIONS

Liraglutide provided better glycaemic control and greater body weight reduction than sitagliptin when administered as add-on to metformin. More patients had nausea, diarrhoea and decreased appetite with liraglutide versus sitagliptin.

The four and a half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) regulates ovarian granulosa cell tumor progression via controlling AKT1 transcription

The four and a half LIM domains 2 (FHL2) has been shown to play important roles in the regulation of cell proliferation, survival, adhesion, motility and signal transduction in a cell type and tissue-dependent manner. However, the function of FHL2 in ovarian physiology and pathology is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the role and functional mechanism of FHL2 in the progression of ovarian granulosa cell tumors (GCTs). Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that FHL2 was overexpressed in GCT tissues. Cellular localization of FHL2 in GCT cells was cell cycle dependent. Knockdown of FHL2 suppressed GCT cell growth, reduced cell viability and inhibited cell migration. Consistently, ectopic expression of FHL2 in GCT cells with very low endogenous FHL2 promoted cell growth, improved cell viability and enhance cell migration. Importantly, overexpression of FHL2 promoted GCT progression in vivo. Mechanistic studies indicated that FHL2 regulates AKT1 gene expression in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of FHL2 or AKT1 in GCT cell lines induced very similar phenotypes. Ectopic expression of constitutively active AKT1 rescued FHL2 knockdown-induced arrest of GCT cell growth and reduction of GCT cell viability, suggesting that FHL2 regulates GCT cell growth and viability through controlling AKT1 expression. Finally, co-immunoprecipitation and chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses indicated that FHL2 functions as a co-activator of NFκB and AP-1 to regulate AKT1 gene transcription. In conclusion, results from the present study indicate that FHL2 exerts its oncogenic action in GCT cells via controlling AKT1 gene expression. FHL2 is a promising target for the development of novel drugs against ovarian granulosa cell tumor.

In Vivo Visualization of Tumor Antigen-containing Microparticles Generated in Fluorescent-protein-elicited Immunity

In vivo optical spatio-temporal imaging of the tumor microenvironment is useful to explain how tumor immunotherapies work. However, the lack of fluorescent antigens with strong immunogenicity makes it difficult to study the dynamics of how tumors are eliminated by any given immune response. Here, we develop an effective fluorescent model antigen based on the tetrameric far-red fluorescent protein KatushkaS158A (tfRFP), which elicits both humoral and cellular immunity. We use this fluorescent antigen to visualize the dynamic behavior of immunocytes as they attack and selectively eliminate tfRFP-expressing tumors in vivo; swarms of immunocytes rush toward tumors with high motility, clusters of immunocytes form quickly, and numerous antigen-antibody complexes in the form of tfRFP(+) microparticles are generated in the tumor areas and ingested by macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, tfRFP, as both a model antigen and fluorescent reporter, is a useful tool to visualize specific immune responses in vivo.

Reconstruction of burst activity from calcium imaging of neuronal population via Lq minimization and interval screening

Calcium imaging is becoming an increasingly popular technology to indirectly measure activity patterns in local neuronal networks. Based on the dependence of calcium fluorescence on neuronal spiking, two-photon calcium imaging affords single-cell resolution of neuronal population activity. However, it is still difficult to reconstruct neuronal activity from complex calcium fluorescence traces, particularly for traces contaminated by noise. Here, we describe a robust and efficient neuronal-activity reconstruction method that utilizes Lq minimization and interval screening (IS), which we refer to as LqIS. The simulation results show that LqIS performs satisfactorily in terms of both accuracy and speed of reconstruction. Reconstruction of simulation and experimental data also shows that LqIS has advantages in terms of the recall rate, precision rate, and timing error. Finally, LqIS is demonstrated to effectively reconstruct neuronal burst activity from calcium fluorescence traces recorded from large-size neuronal population.

Compensation of spatial dispersion of an acousto-optic deflector with a special Keplerian telescope

Compensation of spatial dispersion caused by the acousto-optic deflector (AOD) when using a femtosecond laser is difficult across the whole scanning range of the system, and this is a significant impediment to its use. In conventional methods, the dispersion of the AOD was compensated only when it was at a particular position, while at other positions, the quality of the light beam was reduced. We developed a novel method for compensating the spatial dispersion within the entire scanning range using a special Keplerian telescope. Our experimental results show that the residual dispersion of the AOD is compensated sufficiently, and the focal spots of the laser reach the diffraction limit within a 40-MHz ultrasound bandwidth.

Experimentally exploiting the violation of the Lagrange invariant for resolution improvement

It is experimentally demonstrated that even though the numerical aperture in the object space is fixed, the resolution of an imaging system still can be improved by adjusting the parameters in the image space. This strategy cannot be realized until the discovery of the violation of the Lagrange invariant in a kind of self-interference holography. With the violation, parameters in the image space can escape the constraint of the object space for resolution improvement. Experiments that directly confirm this new ability are implemented and results agree well with the theoretical prediction. Additionally, better performance on frequency recording and finer details beyond the diffraction limit have been recorded with this method.

NeuroGPS-Tree: automatic reconstruction of large-scale neuronal populations with dense neurites

The reconstruction of neuronal populations, a key step in understanding neural circuits, remains a challenge in the presence of densely packed neurites. Here we achieved automatic reconstruction of neuronal populations by partially mimicking human strategies to separate individual neurons. For populations not resolvable by other methods, we obtained recall and precision rates of approximately 80%. We also demonstrate the reconstruction of 960 neurons within 3 h.

A meta-analysis of erlotinib versus docetaxel for advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer with poor prognosis

BACKGROUND

The extent of the benefit of erlotinib in the treatment of advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still controversial when compared with docetaxel. This meta-analysis was performed to compare the efficacy of erlotinib with docetaxel for different patients with advanced NSCLC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched Cochrane Library, PubMed, CNKI, and identified 23 randomized controlled clinical trials from 2008 to 2015. According to our further full-text screening, 6 clinical trials were included in the final meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Six papers were included in this study. The progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), objective response rate (ORR), and toxicity were included in our outcomes. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of PFS was 1.57 (95% confidential index [CI] = 1.47-1.69). The pooled HR of OS was 1.66 (95% CI = 1.43-1.92). The pooled risk ratio of ORR was 0.56 (95% CI = 0.35-0.91). The toxicity analysis showed odds ratio = 1.79 (95% CI = 1.20-2.69).

CONCLUSIONS

In terms of PFS, OS, and toxicity the effect of erlotinib in the treatment of advanced NSCLC patients is superior to docetaxel.

Fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography using acousto-optical deflector-based confocal scheme

Fluorescent labeling has opened up the possibility of clarifying the complex distribution and circuit wiring of specific neural circuits for particular functions. To acquire the brain-wide fluorescently labeled neural wiring, we have previously developed the fluorescence micro-optical sectioning tomography imaging system. This employs simultaneous mechanical sectioning and confocal imaging of the slices, and is capable of acquiring the image dataset of a centimeter-sized whole-mouse brain at a voxel resolution of [Formula: see text]. We analyze the key optical considerations for the use of an acousto-optical deflector (AOD) scanner-based confocal detection scheme in this system. As a result, the influence of confocal detection, the imaging site during sectioning, and AOD fast scan mode on signal-to-background noise ratio are described. It is shown that mechanical sectioning to separate the slice and optical sectioning by confocal detection should be combined to maximize background suppression in simultaneous fast scan imaging while sectioning system setup.

YAP induces high-grade serous carcinoma in fallopian tube secretory epithelial cells

Accumulating evidence indicates that ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) originates from fallopian tube secretory epithelial cells (FTSECs). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of HGSC derived from FTSECs remains unclear. In this study, we found that the Hippo/Yes-associated protein (YAP) signaling pathway has a critical role in the initiation and progression of fallopian tube and ovarian HGSC. Importantly, YAP was overexpressed in inflammatory and cancerous fallopian tube tissues. Further, overexpression of wild-type YAP, or constitutively active YAP in immortalized FTSECs, induced cell proliferation, migration, colony formation and tumorigenesis. Moreover, the Hippo/YAP and the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathways formed an autocrine/paracrine-positive feedback loop to drive the progression of the FTSEC-derived HGSC. Evidence in this study strongly suggests that combined therapy with inhibitors of YAP (such as verteporfin) and FGF receptors (such as BGJ398) can provide a novel therapeutic strategy to treat fallopian tube and ovarian HGSC.

Evaluation of cytotoxicity of some common ophthalmic drugs

The article "Evaluation of cytotoxicity of some common ophthalmic drugs" by M. Li, X.-M. Chen, J.-J. Liu, D.-M. Wang, L. Gan, X. Lv, Y. Qiao, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2015; 19 (11): 1945-1950 has been withdrawn.

EGFR signaling upregulates surface expression of the GluN2B-containing NMDA receptor and contributes to long-term potentiation in the hippocampus

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) have been known to be regulated by various receptor tyrosine kinases. Activation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) specifically increases NMDAR-mediated currents and enhances long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus. However, the mechanism through which EGFR regulates NMDARs remains to be elucidated. In this study we found that EGFR was highly expressed in the hippocampus and mainly localized in the non-synaptic region including the soma and neurites of cultured hippocampal neurons. EGFR activation led to an increase in ifenprodil-sensitive NMDAR currents. Consistent with this, we also observed that surface expression of GluN2B-containing NMDAR was upregulated. Our biochemical data from hippocampal slices and hippocampal cultured neurons demonstrated that EGF treatment in vitro significantly increased phosphorylation of the GluN2B subunit at Y1472 with a coincidental activation of Src family kinases (SFKs). EGFR blockade with a specific antagonist BIBX-1382 attenuated an increase of GluN2B in the postsynaptic density during high-frequency stimulation (HFS)-induced LTP. Moreover, BIBX blockade significantly impaired HFS-induced LTP. In conclusion, our findings suggest that EGFR signaling upregulates NMDARs through modification of the GluN2B subunit, and is required for HFS-induced LTP in the hippocampus.