A long non-coding RNA interacts with Gfra1 and maintains survival of mouse spermatogonial stem cells

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are unique male germline stem cells that support spermatogenesis and male fertility. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have been identified as key regulators of stem cell fate; however, their role in SSCs has not been explored. Here, we report that a novel spermatogonia-specific lncRNA (lncRNA033862) is essential for the survival of murine SSCs. LncRNA033862 is expressed in early spermatogonia including SSC and was among 805 lncRNAs identified by global expression profiling as responsive to glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a growth factor required for SSC self-renewal and survival. LncRNA033862 is an antisense transcript of the GDNF receptor alpha1 (Gfra1) that lacks protein coding potential and regulates Gfra1 expression levels by interacting with Gfra1 chromatin. Importantly, lncRNA033862 knockdown severely impairs SSC survival and their capacity to repopulate recipient testes in a transplantation assay. Collectively, our data provide the first evidence that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate SSC fate.

Glycemic control and self-monitoring of blood glucose in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes on insulin: Baseline results from the COMPASS study

AIMS

Self monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) is not widely utilized in insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes. In this analysis, we evaluated the current state of SMBG in Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin.

METHODS

The 2-phase COMPASS study involved 24 centers across 10 provinces and cities in China. In the first phase, a cross sectional survey was carried out in type 2 diabetes patients receiving insulin treatment. The inclusion criteria for the study subjects in the first phase were: type 2 diabetes, insulin treatment for ≥ 3 months, and age ≥ 18 years. Evaluation was made on the status of SMBG and insulin therapy in these patients by a questionnaire.

RESULTS

A total of 2819 patients (age 58.2 ± 10.8 years; 49.6% females; BMI 24.6 ± 3.4 kg/m(2)) with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes were recruited in phase I of this study. The majority of patients (80.4%) were receiving insulin treatment for at least 6 months. At baseline, the mean HbA1c was 8.5 ± 1.9% and 54.6% of patients had an HbA1c above 8%. 50.4% of the cohort had diabetes for at least 10 years, and fewer of these patients achieved HbA1c <7.0% (53 mmol/mol). At baseline, 65.8% of patients reported that daily SMBG frequency was performed on a random basis. 59.2% of patients reported that they occasionally, rarely or never follow their physician's instructions regarding SMBG. Hypoglycemia occurred in over 50% of patients, although in 71.8% of patients this was a rare occurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

There is low utilization of SMBG in Chinese adults with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes, with approximately two-thirds of patients reporting irregular use of SMBG. This is in line with an overall poor level of glycemic control.

Single i.v. ketamine augmentation of newly initiated escitalopram for major depression: results from a randomized, placebo-controlled 4-week study

BACKGROUND

While oral antidepressants reach efficacy after weeks, single-dose intravenous (i.v.) ketamine has rapid, yet time-limited antidepressant effects. We aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of single-dose i.v. ketamine augmentation of escitalopram in major depressive disorder (MDD).

METHOD

Thirty outpatients with severe MDD (17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression total score ⩾ 24) were randomized to 4 weeks double-blind treatment with escitalopram 10 mg/day+single-dose i.v. ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 min) or escitalopram 10 mg/day + placebo (0.9% i.v. saline). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Self-Report (QIDS-SR). Suicidal ideation was evaluated with the QIDS-SR item 12. Adverse psychopathological effects were measured with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)-positive symptoms, Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS). Patients were assessed at baseline, 1, 2, 4, 24 and 72 h and 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Time to response (⩾ 50% MADRS score reduction) was the primary outcome.

RESULTS

By 4 weeks, more escitalopram + ketamine-treated than escitalopram + placebo-treated patients responded (92.3% v. 57.1%, p = 0.04) and remitted (76.9% v. 14.3%, p = 0.001), with significantly shorter time to response [hazard ratio (HR) 0.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.01-0.22, p < 0.001] and remission (HR 0.11, 95% CI 0.02-0.63, p = 0.01). Compared to escitalopram + placebo, escitalopram + ketamine was associated with significantly lower MADRS scores from 2 h to 2 weeks [(peak = 3 days-2 weeks; effect size (ES) = 1.08-1.18)], QIDS-SR scores from 2 h to 2 weeks (maximum ES = 1.27), and QIDS-SR suicidality from 2 to 72 h (maximum ES = 2.24). Only YMRS scores increased significantly with ketamine augmentation (1 and 2 h), without significant BPRS or CADSS elevation.

CONCLUSIONS

Single-dose i.v. ketamine augmentation of escitalopram was safe and effective in severe MDD, holding promise for speeding up early oral antidepressant efficacy.

Impact of structured self-monitoring of blood glucose on the quality of life of insulin-treated Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: Results from the COMPASS study

AIMS

To evaluate the effect of structured self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) regimen on quality of life (QoL) in poorly controlled insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

Phase II of the COMPASS trial was a 6-month, multicenter, prospective, single-arm, interventional study. This study recruited 820 outpatients from 19 clinical sites in China who met the following inclusion criteria: type 2 diabetes, insulin treatment for ≥ 3 months, and age 18-65 years, an HbA1c >8.0% (64 mmol/mol), and willingness to perform SMBG. Subjects were advised to follow a structured SMBG regimen specific to their insulin regimen, and were trained to respond to SMBG readings via lifestyle changes and insulin dose self-adjustment. QoL assessments (SF-36) were performed at baseline and 6 months.

RESULTS

Patients with a mean age of 55.13 ± 9.77 years had an average diabetes duration of 9.83 ± 7.05 years and had been receiving insulin therapy for a mean of 45.4 ± 46.79 months. All QoL parameters were significantly improved following structured SMBG after 6 months, most notably the physical role functioning (p<0.0001) and emotional role functioning (p<0.0001) component scores. Overall, 40.6% of patients rated their overall QoL as 'a bit' or a lot better' after structured SMBG compared with 16.5% prior to the intervention (p<0.0001). SMBG also improved overall feelings of wellbeing, with 39.13% of patients believing that their health was deteriorating prior to SMBG compared with only 14.4% of patients after the intervention (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The structured SMBG program in insulin-treated Chinese outpatients with type 2 diabetes significantly improved QoL outcomes. Physical and emotional role functioning are the 2 QoL scales that demonstrate the largest improvement with SMBG.

Carbon quantum dots/nickel oxide (CQDs/NiO) nanorods with high capacitance for supercapacitors

Novel CQDs/NiO nanorods have been prepared via a facile complexation method followed by a thermal treatment process and used as electroactive materials for supercapacitors, which deliver a high specific capacitance of 1858 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹.

The role of cathepsin K in oral and maxillofacial disorders

Cathepsin K (CTSK) was thought to be a collagenase, specifically expressed by osteoclasts, and played an important role in bone resorption. However, more and more research found that CTSK was expressed in more extensive cells, tissues, and organs. It may not only participate in regulating human physiological activity, but also be closely related to a variety of disease. In this review, we highlight the relationship between CTSK and oral and maxillofacial disorders on the following three aspects: oral and maxillofacial abnormities in patients with pycnodysostosis caused by CTSK mutations, oral and maxillofacial abnormities in Ctsk(-/-) mice, and the role of CTSK in oral and maxillofacial diseases, including periodontitis, peri-implantitis, tooth movement, oral and maxillofacial tumor, root resorption, and periapical disease.

Cancer stem cells: targeting tumors at the source

The cancer stem cell hypothesis states that tumors rely exclusively on the continued proliferation of a subset of cancer cells that originated from normal adult stem cells. These cells have two key traits: multipotency, and self-renewal. The prolonged lifespan of stem cells makes them perfect candidates for the accumulation of carcinogenic mutations that would convert them into cancer stem cells (CSCs) no longer responsive to the many regulatory pathways in place that are responsible for tight governance of proliferation and differentiation in normal stem cells. Comprehending what these regulatory pathways are, and how their derailment contributes to oncogenic transformation, can hold the key to finding new strategies to target CSCs in order to effectively treat cancer. Additionally, what environmental factors are involved in promoting or suppressing CSC tumorigenicity requires attention. The possibility that some cancers may have clonal origins in non-stem cell populations that were able to acquire stem cell-like properties, and the lack of complete cell autonomy in carcinogenesis, suggests that the CSC hypothesis is continually evolving. Continued research in this field can shed light on how effective selective elimination of CSCs as opposed to generalized targeting of cancer cells will be in the treatment of cancer.

Hematopoietic stem cells: cancer involvement and myeloid leukemia

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are rare multipotent cells that possess ability to self-renew and differentiate to progenitor cells, which give rise to all blood cell lineages. The process involves specific regulation of gene transcription and its deregulation resulting in imbalance between self-renew and differentiation, can lead to cellular transformation and cancers. Substantial evidence indicates that accumulated mutations in HSCs contribute to the initiation and pathogenesis of at least some hematopoietic cancers. In particular, myeloid leukemias have been extensively characterized with regard to HSC and progenitor involvement. Thus, as a focal point for scientific and therapeutic endeavours, formation of cancer cells from HSCs represents a critical area of investigation. Consequently, understanding how HSCs function and how they undergo to transformation, is of fundamental importance to get insight in their contribution to the hematopoietic cancer development.

Dental Abnormalities Caused by Novel Compound Heterozygous CTSK Mutations

Cathepsin K (CTSK) is an important protease responsible for degrading type I collagen, osteopontin, and other bone matrix proteins. The mutations in the CTSK gene can cause pycnodysostosis (OMIM 265800), a rare autosomal recessive bone dysplasia. Patients with pycnodysostosis have been reported to present specific dental abnormalities; however, whether these dental abnormalities are related to dysfunctional CTSK has never been reported. Here we investigated the histologic changes of cementum and alveolar bone in a pycnodysostosis patient, caused by novel compound heterozygous mutations in the CTSK gene (c.87 G>A p.W29X and c.848 A>G p.Y283C). The most impressive manifestations in tooth were extensive periradicular high-density clumps with unclear periodontal space by orthopantomography examination and micro-computed tomography scanning analysis. Hematoxylin/eosin and toluidine blue staining and atomic force microscopy analysis showed that the cementum became significantly thickened, softened, and full of cementocytes. The disorganized bone structure was the main character of alveolar bone. The p.W29X mutation may represent the loss-of-function allele with an earlier termination codon in the precursor CTSK polypeptide. Residue Y283 is highly conserved among papain-like cysteine proteases. Three-dimensional structure modeling analysis found that the loss of the hydroxybenzene residue in the Y283C mutation would interrupt the hydrogen network and possibly affect the self-cleavage of the CTSK enzyme. Furthermore, p.Y283C mutation did not affect the mRNA and protein levels of overexpressed CTSK in COS-7 system but did reduce CTSK enzyme activity. In conclusion, the histologic and ultrastructural changes of cementum and alveolar bone might be affected by CTSK mutation via reduction of its enzyme activity (clinical trial registration: ChiCTR-TNC-10000876).

Evaluation of clinical measurements and development of new diagnostic criteria for Takayasu arteritis in a Chinese population

OBJECTIVES

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a chronic granulomatous large-vessel vasculitis. When diagnosing TA, the criteria designed by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) are used commonly but they were just classification criteria. There is an urgent need for a new set of diagnostic criteria.

METHODS

One hundred and thirty-one TA patients and 132 control patients with other types of vascular disease were enrolled and both groups were distributed into a "training set" and a "validation set". All general information as well as clinical, laboratory and imaging data were collected. After comparing all the medical records of two groups in the training set, logistic regression and clinical judgment were used to form the new criteria for TA. The new criteria were tested by the validation set.

RESULTS

New TA diagnostic criteria within total score 26 include age (<40 years), female, chest pain/chest distress, amaurosis, vascular bruits, a decreased/absent pulse, involvement of the aortic arch or its major branches, and involvement of the abdominal aorta or its branches. Patients with a score ≥ 8 were diagnosed as TA. The sensitivity and specificity of our new criteria were 91.92% and 93.94%, respectively, higher than those of the ACR criteria (75.76%, 85.86%) and the Ishikawa criteria (56.57%, 94.95%). The areas under the ROC curves of the new criteria and ACR criteria were 0.981 and 0.868, respectively (p<0.001). Sensitivity and specificity tested in the validation set were 90.63% and 96.97%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The new diagnostic criteria exhibited high sensitivity and specificity and have demonstrated to be feasible in the diagnosis of TA.

Successful pregnancy and breastfeeding in a woman with mucopolysaccharidosis type I while receiving laronidase enzyme replacement. therapy

The authors describe the first mother-infant pair to complete an on-going, prospective, open-label, Phase 4 trial (ALIU) UU3, NCT00418821) determining the safety of laronidase enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) in pregnant women with mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) and their breastfed infants. The mother, a 32-year-old with attenuated MPS I (Scheie syndrome), received laronidase for three years and continued treatment throughout her second pregnancy and while lactating. A healthy 2.5 kg male was delivered by elective cesarean section at 37 weeks. He was breastfed for three months. No laronidase was detected in breast milk. The infant never developed anti-laronidase IgM antibodies, never had inhibitory antibody activity in a cellular uptake assay, and always had normal urinary glycosaminoglycan (GAG) levels. No drug-related adverse events were reported. At 2.5 years of age, the boy is healthy with normal growth and development. In this first prospectively monitored mother-infant pair, laronidase during pregnancy and breastfeeding was uneventful.

Efficacy and safety of echinocandins versus triazoles for the prophylaxis and treatment of fungal infections: a meta-analysis of RCTs

Echinocandins and triazoles were proven to be effective antifungal drugs against invasive fungal infections (IFI), which may cause significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety between echinocandins and triazoles for the prophylaxis and treatment of fungal infections. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up to July 2014. The quality of trials was assessed with the Jadad scoring system. The primary outcomes of interest were treatment success, microbiological success, breakthrough infection, drug-related adverse events (AEs), withdrawals due to AEs, and all-cause mortality. Ten RCTs, involving 2,837 patients, were included, as follows: caspofungin versus fluconazole (n = 1), caspofungin versus itraconazole (n = 1), anidulafungin versus fluconazole (n = 1), micafungin versus fluconazole (n = 4), micafungin versus voriconazole (n = 2), and micafungin versus itraconazole (n = 1). Echinocandins and triazoles showed similar effects in terms of favorable treatment success rate [relative risk (RR) = 1.02, 95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.97–1.08], microbiological success rate (RR = 0.98, 95 % CI, 0.90–1.15), breakthrough infection (RR = 1.09; 95 % CI, 0.59–2.01), drug-related AEs (RR = 0.94; 95 % CI, 0.71–1.15), and all-cause mortality (RR = 0.85; 95 % CI, 0.66–1.10) in the prophylaxis and treatment of fungal infections. Additionally, echinocandins were more effective than triazoles for prophylaxis in patients undergoing hematologic malignancies or those who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT; RR = 1.08; 95 % CI, 1.02–1.15). Echinocandins significantly decreased the AE-related withdrawals rate compared with triazoles (RR = 0.47; 95 % CI, 0.33–0.67). This meta-analysis revealed that echinocandins are as effective and safe as triazoles for the prophylaxis and treatment of patients with fungal infections.

Diagnostic value of dilated intercellular space and histopathologic scores in gastroesophageal reflux disease

The aim of this paper is to investigate the diagnostic value of histopathologic score and the dilated intercellular space (DIS) in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and functional heartburn (FH). Participants with GERD symptoms including reflux esophagitis, non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), Barrett's esophagus (BE), functional heartburn (FH), along with a control group with atypical GERD-like symptom (Sym-C), and asymptomatic healthy volunteers (H-C) were administered GERD questionnaire, and subjected to endoscopy and biopsies, as well as 24-hour pH-impedance monitoring. Biopsies were evaluated using standards from the 2011 Esohisto Project after Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. DIS was measured quantitatively under light microscopy. Among the total of 565 participants with qualified biopsy specimens, the mean DIS of the reflux esophagitis (RE) group was significantly wider compared with the other five groups. DIS in patients with GERD-like symptoms was significantly wider compared with the H-C. No significant differences were observed between NERD and FH. Results from 24-hour pH-impedance monitoring indicated that only the DIS of patients with acid reflux or the amount of acid reflux episodes in patients with DIS was significantly wider compared with patients with nonacid reflux or patients without DIS (P < 0.001). With DIS = 0.9 μm as the cutoff value, the sensitivity and specificity were 62.6% and 54.1%, respectively. Using the total histopathologic score > 3 as the diagnostic criterion, the sensitivity and specificity were 71.7% and 47.4%. DIS is closely associated with GERD and acid reflux. The diagnostic value of histological scores in lower esophagus in GERD is very similar to that of the quantitative measurement of DIS.

Luteolin induces apoptosis, G0/G1 cell cycle growth arrest and mitochondrial membrane potential loss in neuroblastoma brain tumor cells

The objective of the present research work was to evaluate the anticancer properties of luteolin against SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma tumor cell line. Cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay after luteolin treatment. Lactate dehydrogenase assay (LDH) was used to evaluate the extent of cell death induced by luteolin. Flow-cytometry was used to examine the effect of luteolin on cell cycle progression and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΛΨm) in SH-SY5Y cells. Phase-contrast microscopy detected the morphological changes in SH-SY5Y cells after luteolin treatment. Our results demonstrated that luteolin induced dose-dependent as well as time-dependent growth inhibition of SH-SY5Y cells with IC50 value of 27.1 µM after 12 h of incubation. Further, luteolin induced significant release of LDH from SH-SY5Y cell cultures following luteolin treatment significantly at 25 and 50 µM doses which corresponds to significant cell death. Phase-contrast microscopy revealed characteristic morphological features of apoptosis induced by luteolin. Flow-cytometry revealed that luteolin induced G0/G1 cell cycle growth arrest in SH-SY5Y cells. Luteolin also induced a progressive and dose-dependent reduction in the mitochondrial membrane potential. In conclusion, our results revealed that luteolin significantly induces growth inhibition of SH-SY5Y tumor cells by inducing apoptosis accompanied with G0/G1 cell cycle growth arrest and concomitant loss in mitochondrial membrane potential (ΛΨm). As such luteolin can be developed as a potent anticancer agent against brain tumor disorders.

Increased expression levels of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and 19 observed in preeclampsia were not correlated with disease severity

INTRODUCTION

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder and placental factor(s) contribute to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Turnover of villous trophoblast is affected by impaired placental perfusion in preeclampsia. Expression and localisation of cadherins and cytokeratins are involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. However, studies describing the associations between cadherins and cytokeratins in preeclampsia are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 in placentae from women with preeclampsia in order to determine whether their expression differs with disease severity.

METHODS

29 preeclamptic placentae and 25 normotensive placentae were included in this study. The expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18, cytokeratin 19 andN-cadherin was quantified by immunohistochemistry and western blotting.

RESULTS

E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 were expressed predominantly in the syncytiotrophoblast of the placenta and the expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 was significantly increased in preeclampsia compared to normotensive pregnancies. However, there was no significant difference in expression between severe preeclampsia and mild preeclampsia. In addition, there was no difference in the expression of N-cadherin between preeclampsic and normotensive pregnancies.

DISCUSSION

Our data demonstrated increased expression of E-cadherin, cytokeratin 18 and cytokeratin 19 in the syncytiotrophoblast of preeclamptic placentae, but this increase was not correlated with disease severity.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggests that E-cadherin and cytokeratins are involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.

Abnormal vibrissa-related behavior and loss of barrel field inhibitory neurons in 5xFAD transgenics

A recent study reported lower anxiety in the 5xFAD transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, as measured by reduced time on the open arms of an elevated plus maze. This is important because all behaviors in experimental animals must be interpreted in light of basal anxiety and response to novel environments. We conducted a comprehensive anxiety battery in the 5xFAD transgenics and replicated the plus-maze phenotype. However, we found that it did not reflect reduced anxiety, but rather abnormal avoidance of the closed arms on the part of transgenics and within-session habituation to the closed arms on the part of wild-type controls. We noticed that the 5xFAD transgenics did not engage in the whisker-barbering behavior typical of mice of this background strain. This is suggestive of abnormal social behavior, and we suspected it might be related to their avoidance of the closed arms on the plus maze. Indeed, transgenic mice exhibited excessive home-cage social behavior and impaired social recognition, and did not permit barbering by wild-type mice when pair-housed. When their whiskers were snipped the 5xFAD transgenics no longer avoided the closed arms on the plus maze. Examination of parvalbumin (PV) staining showed a 28.9% reduction in PV+ inhibitory interneurons in the barrel fields of 5xFAD mice, and loss of PV+ fibers in layers IV and V. This loss of vibrissal inhibition suggests a putatively aversive overstimulation that may be responsible for the transgenics' avoidance of the closed arms in the plus maze.

GOLPH3 is a novel marker of poor prognosis and a potential therapeutic target in human renal cell carcinoma

Background:

Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) has been reported to be involved in the development of several human cancers. The present study was conducted to investigate the expression of GOLPH3 and its prognostic significance in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Meanwhile, the function of GOLPH3 in human RCC was further investigated in cell culture models.

Methods:

Expression of GOLPH3 was examined in 43 fresh RCC tissues and paired adjacent normal renal tissues by real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting. Immunohistochemistry for GOLPH3 was performed on additional 218 RCC tissues. The clinical significance of GOLPH3 expression was analysed. Downregulation of GOLPH3 was performed using small-interfering RNA (siRNA) in Caki-1 and 786-O cells with high abundance of GOLPH3, and the effects of GOLPH3 silencing on cell proliferation, migration, invasion in vitro, and tumour growth in vivo were evaluated.

Results:

Expression of GOLPH3 was upregulated in the majority of the RCC clinical tissue specimens at both mRNA and protein levels. Clinicopathological analysis showed that GOLPH3 expression was significantly correlated with T stage (P<0.001), lymph-node status (P=0.003), distant metastasis (P<0.001), tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (P<0.001), and Fuhman grade (P=0.001). Expression of GOLPH3 was inversely correlated with both overall and recurrence-free survival of RCC patients. Multivariate analysis showed that GOLPH3 expression was an independent prognostic indicator for patient's survival. Knockdown of the GOLPH3 expression reduced cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, migration, invasion, and tumour growth in xenograft model mice.

Conclusions:

These results suggest that GOLPH3 expression is likely to have important roles in RCC development and progression, and that GOLPH3 is a prognostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target for RCC.