Factors Affecting the Milk Production Traits and Lactation Curve of the Indigenous River Buffalo Populations in Bangladesh

Household buffalo dairy farming is gaining popularity nowadays in Bangladesh because of the outstanding food value of buffalo milk as well as the lower production cost of buffalo compared to cattle. An initiative has recently been taken for the genetic improvement of indigenous dairy buffaloes. The present study was carried out to determine the influence of some environmental factors like age, parity, season of calving, calving interval, dry period on the lactation yield, and lactation curve of indigenous dairy buffaloes of Bangladesh. A total of 384 indigenous dairy buffaloes from the 3rd and 4th parity of seven herds under two different agroecological zones covering four seasons were selected and ear tagged for individual buffalo milk recording. A milk yield of 300 days (MY300d) was calculated following the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) and the data were evaluated using the generalized linear model (GLM). In production traits, the mean of calculated lactation period (CLP), calculated lactation yield (CLY), and milk yield of 300 days (MY300d) of the overall population were 267.28 days, 749.36 kg, and 766.92 kg, respectively, whereas calving interval (CI) and dry period (DP) as reproductive traits were 453.06 days and 185.78 days, respectively. The season of calving, age of buffalo cows, population or herd, agroecological zone, calving interval, and dry period had significant effects on production traits (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001). The season of calving, level of milk production of 300 days, population, and agroecological zone significantly affected the reproduction traits (p < 0.01 to p < 0.001). Parity was found to be non-significant for both types of traits. The average peak yield of test day (TD) milk production was highest at TD4 (4.47 kg, 98th day of lactation). The average MY300d of milk production was the highest in the Lalpur buffalo population (1076.13 kg) and the lowest in the buffalo population of Bhola (592.44 kg). The correlations between milk production traits (CLP, CLY, and MY-300d) and reproduction traits (CI and DP) were highly significant (p < 0.01 to p < 0.001). Positive and high correlation was found within milk traits and reproduction traits, but correlation was negative between milk traits and reproduction traits. Therefore, these non-genetic factors should be considered in the future for any genetic improvement program for indigenous dairy buffaloes in Bangladesh.

Association of Computed Tomography Radiomics Signature with Progression-free Survival in Neuroblastoma Patients

AIMS

To investigate the association of computed tomography radiomics signature with progression-free survival (PFS) in neuroblastoma patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively included 167 neuroblastoma patients who were divided into a training set and a test set through stratified sampling at a ratio of 7:3. Regions of interest of the primary tumours were delineated on pretreatment contrast-enhanced computed tomography images and radiomics features were extracted from them. The intraclass correlation coefficient, Pearson correlation coefficient, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression algorithm were applied to select radiomics features and construct the radiomics signature. The effectiveness of the signature in predicting PFS was evaluated using the concordance index (C-index) and 95% confidence interval in both the training and the test sets. The time-dependent receiver operator characteristic curve of the radiomics signature was plotted and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. A calibration curve was used to assess the difference between the predicted probability of the radiomics signature and the observed probability at different time points.

RESULTS

The radiomics signature was composed of six features, which achieved a C-index of 0.733 (95% confidence interval 0.664-0.803) in the training set and 0.734 (95% confidence interval 0.608-0.861) in the test set. In the training set, the radiomics signature yielded an AUC of 0.707, 0.737, 0.788, 0.859 and 0.829 for 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year PFS, respectively. Similarly, the radiomics signature exhibited an AUC of 0.738, 0.807, 0.761, 0.787 and 0.818 for 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year PFS, respectively, in the test set. The calibration curves showed no significant difference between the predicted probability of the radiomics signature and the observed probability for up to 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Computed tomography radiomics features exhibit a significant correlation with the PFS of neuroblastoma patients, particularly in terms of long-term outcomes.

A Multi-Tissue Gene Expression Atlas of Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Reveals Transcriptome Conservation between Buffalo and Cattle

We generated 73 transcriptomic data of water buffalo, which were integrated with publicly available data in this species, yielding a large dataset of 355 samples representing 20 major tissue categories. We established a multi-tissue gene expression atlas of water buffalo. Furthermore, by comparing them with 4866 cattle transcriptomic data from the cattle genotype-tissue expression atlas (CattleGTEx), we found that the transcriptomes of the two species exhibited conservation in their overall gene expression patterns, tissue-specific gene expression and house-keeping gene expression. We further identified conserved and divergent expression genes between the two species, with the largest number of differentially expressed genes found in the skin, which may be related to structural and functional differences in the skin of the two species. This work provides a source of functional annotation of the buffalo genome and lays the foundations for future genetic and evolutionary studies in water buffalo.

Integrated analysis of whole genome and transcriptome sequencing reveals a frameshift mutation associated with recessive embryonic lethality in Holstein cattle

Embryo loss is an important factor affecting fertility in dairy production. HH2 was identified as a haplotype on chromosome 1 associated with embryonic lethality in Holstein cattle. In the current study, both short- and long-read WGS was performed on four carriers and four non-carriers of HH2 to screen for variants in concordance with HH2 haplotype status. Sequence variation analysis revealed five putative functional variants of protein-coding genes, including a frameshift mutation (g.107172616delT) in intraflagellar transport protein 80 (IFT80) gene. Transcriptome analysis of whole blood indicated that no gene exhibited significantly differential expression or allele-specific expression between carriers and non-carriers in the candidate region. This evidence points to g.107172616delT as the highest priority causative mutation for HH2. Protein prediction reveals that the frameshift mutation results in a premature stop codon to reduce the peptide chain from 760 to 383 amino acids and greatly alters the structure and function of IFT80 protein. Our results demonstrate that the use of a combination of multiple high-throughput sequencing technologies is an efficient strategy to screen for the candidate causative mutations responsible for Mendelian traits, including genetic disorders.

Protective Roles of Folic Acid in the Responses of Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells to Different Virulent Staphylococcus aureus Strains

Mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection is one of the most difficult diseases to treat in dairy cattle. Exploring the biological progression of S. aureus mastitis via the interaction between host, pathogen, and environment is the key to an effective and sustainable improvement of animal health. Here, two strains of S. aureus and a strain of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) isolated from cows with different inflammation phenotypes were used to challenge Mac-T cells and to investigate their effects on the global transcriptome of the cells, then to explore the potential regulatory mechanisms of folic acid on S. aureus mastitis prevention. Differential gene expression or splicing analysis showed that different strains of S. aureus led to distinct transcriptional responses from the host immune system. Folic acid could protect host defense against the challenge of S. aureus and MRSA partially through activating cytoplasmic DNA sensing and tight junction pathway. ZBP1 at the upstream of cytoplasmic DNA sensing pathway was verified and related to anti-pathogen through RNA interference. Further enrichment analysis using these transcriptome data with cattle large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) data confirmed that ZBP1 gene is highly associated with bovine somatic cell score (SCS) trait. Our data shed light on the potential effect of FA through regulating key gene and then protect host cells' defense against S. aureus and MRSA.

Genomic Analysis Revealed a Convergent Evolution of LINE-1 in Coat Color: A Case Study in Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

Visible pigmentation phenotypes can be used to explore the regulation of gene expression and the evolution of coat color patterns in animals. Here, we performed whole-genome and RNA sequencing and applied genome-wide association study, comparative population genomics and biological experiments to show that the 2,809-bp-long LINE-1 insertion in the ASIP (agouti signaling protein) gene is the causative mutation for the white coat phenotype in swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). This LINE-1 insertion (3' truncated and containing only 5' UTR) functions as a strong proximal promoter that leads to a 10-fold increase in the transcription of ASIP in white buffalo skin. The 165 bp of 5' UTR transcribed from the LINE-1 is spliced into the first coding exon of ASIP, resulting in a chimeric transcript. The increased expression of ASIP prevents melanocyte maturation, leading to the absence of pigment in white buffalo skin and hairs. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the white buffalo-specific ASIP allele originated from a recent genetic transposition event in swamp buffalo. Interestingly, as a similar LINE-1 insertion has been identified in the cattle ASIP gene, we discuss the convergent mechanism of coat color evolution in the Bovini tribe.

Caspofungin combined with TMP/SMZ as a first-line therapy for moderate-to-severe PCP in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection

OBJECTIVES

The effectiveness of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMZ) for pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is limited with adverse events. Caspofungin, by inhibiting the cyst form of Pneumocystis jirovecii, may be an alternative therapy for PCP. However, the availability of clinical data about caspofungin combined with TMP/SMZ in the treatment of PCP in HIV-infected patients is limited. Thus, we aimed to examine the clinical effectiveness and safety of caspofungin combined with TMP/SMZ as a first-line therapy for moderate-to-severe PCP in HIV-infected patients.

METHODS

From January 2017 to December 2019, data of HIV-infected patients with moderate-to-severe PCP who received either TMP/SMZ alone or caspofungin combined with TMP/SMZ as first-line therapy were retrospectively reviewed to assess the effectiveness and safety of each regimen. The Kaplan-Meier curve and log-rank test were used for survival analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 278 patients met the criteria. The overall positive response rate of PCP treatment was 48.92%, and the overall all-cause in-hospital mortality rate was 33.09%. Patients who received combination therapy consisting of caspofungin and TMP/SMZ had a better positive response rate (59.44% vs. 37.78%, P < 0.001) and lower all-cause in-hospital mortality rate (24.48% vs. 42.22%, P = 0.003). Also, patients who received combination therapy had higher survival rate during a hospital stay (75.52% vs. 57.78%, P = 0.004), and those who received longer combination therapy were more likely to have higher survival rate (P = 0.042). We found that age (P = 0.019), CD4 cell count (P = 0.001) and therapeutic regimen (P = 0.002) were significant risk factors for all-cause in-hospital mortality rate in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, only CD4 cell count and therapeutic regimen were statistically significant factors associated with all-cause in-hospital mortality rate. Patients with a CD4 count of > 30 cells/µL and patients who received combination therapy consisting of caspofungin and TMP/SMZ were more likely to survive from PCP (P = 0.011 and P = 0.002, respectively). There were no additional severe adverse events caused by adding caspofungin.

CONCLUSIONS

For HIV-infected patients with moderate-to-severe PCP, combination therapy with caspofungin and TMP/SMZ is an effective and promising first-line therapy with no greater number of adverse events compared with TMP/SMZ monotherapy. Patients who received caspofungin had better positive response rates and lower all-cause in-hospital mortality rates. Also, we recommend early initiation of caspofungin.

Whole-Genome Resequencing Reveals Adaptation Prior to the Divergence of Buffalo Subspecies

The application of high-throughput genotyping or sequencing data helps us to understand the genomic response to natural and artificial selection. In this study, we scanned the genomes of five indigenous buffalo populations belong to three recognized breeds, adapted to different geographical and agro-ecological zones in Iran, to unravel the extent of genomic diversity and to localize genomic regions and genes underwent past selection. A total of 46 river buffalo whole genomes, from West and East Azerbaijan, Gilan, Mazandaran, and Khuzestan provinces, were resequenced. Our sequencing data reached to a coverage above 99% of the river buffalo reference genome and an average read depth around 9.2× per sample. We identified 20.55 million SNPs, including 63,097 missense, 707 stop-gain, and 159 stop-loss mutations that might have functional consequences. Genomic diversity analyses showed modest structuring among Iranian buffalo populations following frequent gene flow or admixture in the recent past. Evidence of positive selection was investigated using both differentiation (Fst) and fixation (Pi) metrics. Analysis of fixation revealed three genomic regions in all three breeds with aberrant polymorphism contents on BBU2, 20, and 21. Fixation signal on BBU2 overlapped with the OCA2-HERC2 genes, suggestive of adaptation to UV exposure through pigmentation mechanism. Further validation using resequencing data from other five bovine species as well as the Axiom Buffalo Genotyping Array 90K data of river and swamp buffaloes indicated that these fixation signals persisted across river and swamp buffaloes and extended to taurine cattle, implying an ancient evolutionary event occurred before the speciation of buffalo and taurine cattle. These results contributed to our understanding of major genetic switches that took place during the evolution of modern buffaloes.

Integrating RNA-Seq with GWAS reveals novel insights into the molecular mechanism underpinning ketosis in cattle

Background

Ketosis is a common metabolic disease during the transition period in dairy cattle, resulting in long-term economic loss to the dairy industry worldwide. While genetic selection of resistance to ketosis has been adopted by many countries, the genetic and biological basis underlying ketosis is poorly understood.

Results

We collected a total of 24 blood samples from 12 Holstein cows, including 4 healthy and 8 ketosis-diagnosed ones, before (2 weeks) and after (5 days) calving, respectively. We then generated RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) data and seven blood biochemical indicators (bio-indicators) from leukocytes and plasma in each of these samples, respectively. By employing a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we detected that 4 out of 16 gene-modules, which were significantly engaged in lipid metabolism and immune responses, were transcriptionally (FDR < 0.05) correlated with postpartum ketosis and several bio-indicators (e.g., high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein). By conducting genome-wide association signal (GWAS) enrichment analysis among six common health traits (ketosis, mastitis, displaced abomasum, metritis, hypocalcemia and livability), we found that 4 out of 16 modules were genetically (FDR < 0.05) associated with ketosis, among which three were correlated with postpartum ketosis based on WGCNA. We further identified five candidate genes for ketosis, including GRINA, MAF1, MAFA, C14H8orf82 and RECQL4. Our phenome-wide association analysis (Phe-WAS) demonstrated that human orthologues of these candidate genes were also significantly associated with many metabolic, endocrine, and immune traits in humans. For instance, MAFA, which is involved in insulin secretion, glucose response, and transcriptional regulation, showed a significantly higher association with metabolic and endocrine traits compared to other types of traits in humans.

Conclusions

In summary, our study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanism underlying ketosis in cattle, and highlights that an integrative analysis of omics data and cross-species mapping are promising for illustrating the genetic architecture underpinning complex traits.

PDLIM5 improves depression-like behavior of prenatal stress offspring rats via methylation in male, but not female

OBJECTIVE

Prenatal stress (PS) contributes to depression-like behavior in the offspring. PDLIM5 is involved in the onset of mental disorders. This study is to investigate the role and mechanism of PDLIM5 in depression-like behavior of PS offspring rats.

METHODS

PS model was used to analyze the effects of different treatments to PS offspring rats with different sex, including PDLIM5, PDLIM5 shRNA and 5-aza-2' -deoxycytidine (5-azaD). The depression-like behavior was assessed by the sucrose preference test (SPT) and forced swimming test (FST). The mRNA and protein expression levels of PDLIM5 in the hippocampus of PS offspring rats were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. The methylation of PDLIM5 promoter were analyzed by bisulfite sequencing.

RESULTS

Our data revealed that PS offspring rats showed a significant decrease in sucrose preference and a prolonged immobility time. Injection of PDLIM5 significantly improved the depression-like behavior in PS offspring rats, whereas administration of PDLIM5 shRNA aggravated it. In addition, PDLIM5 expression was decreased at the mRNA and protein levels, and the methylation level of PDLIM5 promoter was increased in hippocampus of PS male but not female offspring rats. Furthermore, microinjection of 5-azaD improved the PS induced depression-like behavior in offspring rats. Moreover, in male PS offspring rats, microinjection of 5-azaD reversed the effect of PS on PDLIM5 expression and promoter methylation.

CONCLUSION

PDLIM5 can significantly improve the depression-like behavior of both male and female PS offspring rats, while the PDLIM5 promoter methylation is only observed in male PS offspring rats. Our study may provide new mechanism for the pathogenesis of depression and experimental evidence for sex-based precise treatment.

[A single-center retrospective study on axillary evaluation in 1 557 breast ductal carcinoma in situ patients between 2006 and 2016]

Objectives: To examine the influence factors on axillary evaluation in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) patients, and the prognosis of different choices of axillary evaluation in a single-center retrospective study. Methods: Totally 1 557 DCIS patients admitted in Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from January 2006 to November 2016 were retrospectively enrolled. All patients were female. The median age was 49 years (range: 21 to 85 years). Surgical methods included modified radical mastectomy, simple mastectomy (with or without axillary evaluation) and breast conservation surgery (with or without axillary evaluation). Axillary evaluation included axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). T tests, χ(2) test and Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze influence factors on axillary evaluation, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curve and Log-rank analysis were used to evaluate recurrence-free survival (RFS) and loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS) in patients with different surgical methods. Results: Among the 1 557 DCIS patients, there were 1 226 cases received axillary evaluation, while 331 cases not received axillary evaluation. Patients were separated into 3 groups by different axillary evaluation choices: SLNB group (957 cases, 61.46%), ALND group (197 cases, 12.65%) and no evaluation group (403 cases, 25.88%). The patients in SLNB group increased significantly (P=0.000), from 3.85% (60/1 557) in 2006 to 75.19% (1 170/1 557) in 2016. The independent influence factors of receiving axillary evaluation were high nuclear grade (OR=3.191, 95%CI: 1.722 to 5.912, P=0.001) and tumor size>15 mm (OR=1.698, 95%CI: 1.120 to 2.573, P=0.012). Also, patients received breast conservation surgery were more likely to refuse axillary evaluation (OR=0.155, 95%CI: 0.103 to 0.233, P=0.000). There were no significant differences in RFS and LRRFS in patients with different axillary evaluation choices. Conclusions: The investigation in trends and influence factors of different axillary evaluation choices provided basis on surgical precision medicine in DCIS patients. Patients received SLNB increased significantly. The independent influence factors of axillary evaluation were nuclear grade, tumor size and surgical methods. There was no significant differences in prognosis among the groups receiving different axillary evaluations.

Abstract P6-05-01: A novel cleaved cytoplasmic lncRNA LacRNA interacts with PHB2 and suppresses breast cancer metastasis via repressing MYC targets

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in breast cancer metastases through largely unknown mechanisms. In this study, we used microarray analysis to compare lncRNAs expression levels between matched pairs of breast lymph node metastatic tissues and primary tumors. We discovered that lncRNA LINC00478 was substantially downregulated in the metastatic tumor samples. Interestingly, we found that LINC00478 could be cleaved by RNase to simultaneously generates the mature 5' ends of cytoplasmic RNA and 3' ends of nuclear RNA by polyadenylation. We named 5' ends 791-nt RNA as LacRNA (LINC00478-assciated cytoplasmic RNA). Over expression of full-length LINC00478 and LacRNA, but not LINC00478 3' RNA, significantly inhibited breast cancer proliferation, invasion and metastasis in vitro and in vivo.We used CRISPR-dCas9 complex to mediate efficient transcriptional activation of LacRNA at endogenous genomic loci followed by RNA-seq analyses. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed that the MYC pathway/targets were prominent gene sets negatively enriched in LacRNA-activated cells. Further study revealed that LacRNA exerted its tumor suppressive activity by directly binding with prohibitin2(PHB2) to enhance its protein stability, which promoted PHB2 competing with MYC for transcriptionally suppressing the MYC target genes (e.g., CDC20, CDC45, CCNA2 and MAD2L1). Mechanistically, LacRNA inhibits breast cancer invasion and metastasis by interacting with PHB2 through LacRNA's 1-300nt region. In addition, taking advantage of CRISPR system to knock-out and activate the expression of LacRNA, as well as rescue experiment, we uncovered the positive correlation between LacRNA and PHB2 and their role in suppressing MYC target genes and cancer metastasis. At the same time, LacRNA can attenuated the MYC induced activation of MYC targets through binding with PHB2, indicating that LacRNA plays a central role in the suppression of MYC target genes. We further explored the role of LacRNA in inhibiting lung metastasis by implanting LacRNA-activated LM2 cells into the mammary fat pads of NOD-SCID mice. Luciferase imaging and histological analysis were used to detect lung metastasis and found that LacRNA significantly suppressed lung metastasis. Immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of PHB2 and MYC targets in both orthotopic tumors and lung metastasis and verified their correlation in vivo. Extensive analyses of clinical data indicated that LacRNA level was substantially downregulated in metastases tumors accompanied by enrichment of MYC targets. The robustness value of LacRNA expression was further verified in two independent patient cohorts, including 530 invasive breast cancer tumors in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC) and 819 breast patients' data from TCGA. High LacRNA expression level had a significantly better clinical outcome in both cohorts and represented an independent prognostic predictor for DFS (HR=0.48, P=0.006, multivariate analysis) and OS (HR=0.32, P=0.009, multivariate analysis) in FUSCC cohort. Collectively, LacRNA functions as a tumor suppressor lncRNA that inhibits breast cancer invasion-metastasis cascade.

Citation Format: Guo R, Su Y-H, Xue J-y, Si J, Chi Y-y, Wu J. A novel cleaved cytoplasmic lncRNA LacRNA interacts with PHB2 and suppresses breast cancer metastasis via repressing MYC targets [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 P6-05-01.

Abstract P3-01-06: Can axillary evaluation be omitted in patients preoperatively diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ by core needle biopsy?

Background

Patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) by core needle biopsy (CNB) have a great chance of upgrading invasive cancer on the final pathology. Positive axillary lymph nodes can be found in these patients. The present study sought to identify clinicopathological factors associated with upgrading and axillary lymph nodes metastasis in patients preoperatively diagnosed with DCIS by CNB.

Materials and Methods

This study identified 604 patients (cT1-3N0M0) with preoperative diagnosis of pure DCIS by CNB who had undergone axillary evaluation from August 2006 to December 2015 at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC). Predictors of upgrading and axillary lymph nodes metastasis were analyzed, respectively.

Results

Of all 604 patients, 513 (84.93%) and 91 (15.07%) patients had undergone sentinel lymph nodes biopsy (SLNB) and axillary lymph nodes dissection (ALND), respectively. Overall, 121 (20.03%) and 193 (31.95%) patients were upgraded to DCIS with microinvasion (DCISM) and IDC on final pathology, respectively. Positive axillary lymph nodes were identified in 41 (6.79%) patients, of which 35 (5.80%) patients had 1-2 positive axillary lymph nodes, 6 (0.99%) patients had 3 or more positive axillary lymph nodes. Among patients with axillary lymph nodes metastasis, 4 (9.76%), 4 (9.76%) and 33 (80.48%) patients were in DCIS, DCISM and IDC group, respectively. Predictors of upgrading included tumor size on ultrasonography (P=0.001), Ki-67 (P=0.046) and molecular subtype (P=0.007) in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, patients with larger tumor size on ultrasonography (&gt;2cm) (OR 1.767, P=0.001) were more likely to be upgraded on final pathology. Also, ER+ HER2+ patients were more likely to be upgraded than ER+ HER2- patients (OR 1.659, P=0.047). Factors associated with axillary lymph nodes metastasis included nipple discharge (P&lt;0.001), tumor size on pathology (P=0.037), number of lesions (P=0.039), axillary evaluation methods (P=0.029) and molecular subtype (P=0.049) in univariate analysis. Whereas, only nipple discharge and larger tumor size on pathology (&gt;2cm) reached statistical significance in multivariate analysis (OR 5.959, P&lt;0.001; OR 2.361, P=0.042). In addition, further analysis showed upgrading on final pathology had a significant influence on axillary lymph nodes status (P&lt;0.001). However, this correlation was not shown between patients with DCIS and DCISM in pairwise comparison.

Conclusion

The data of upgrading and axillary lymph nodes metastasis in patients with an initial diagnosis of DCIS by CNB was comparable in this cohort with published data. Despite of a 51.98% upgrading rate, the rate of axillary lymph nodes metastasis in these patients is low, which supports the omission of axillary evaluation in selected patients.

Citation Format: Si J, Yang B, Guo R, Huang N, Quan C, Chen J, Wu J. Can axillary evaluation be omitted in patients preoperatively diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ by core needle biopsy? [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-01-06.

Ras-association domain family 10 acts as a novel tumor suppressor through modulating MMP2 in hepatocarcinoma

Ras-Association Domain Family 10 (RASSF10) is the last identified member of the RASSF family. The functional characteristics of this new gene in human cancers remain largely unclear. Here, we examined RASSF10 for the biological functions and related molecular mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that RASSF10 is expressed in normal human liver tissue, but is silenced or down-regulated in 62.5% (5/8) of HCC cell lines. The mean expression level of RASSF10 was significantly lower in primary HCCs compared with their adjacent normal tissues (P<0.005, n=52). The promoter methylation contributes to the inactivation of RASSF10 as demonstrated by bisulfite genomic sequencing and demethylation treatment analyses. Transgenic expression of RASSF10 in silenced HCC cell lines suppressed cell viability, colony formation and inhibited tumor growth in nude mice (QGY7703, P<0.01; HepG2, P<0.05). Furthermore, RASSF10 was shown to induce the cell accumulation in G1 phase with the increase of p27, as well as the decrease of cyclinD1 and CDK2/CDK4. Over-expression of RASSF10 also inhibited HCC cells migration (P<0.01) or invasion (P<0.05). Adhesion genes array revealed that Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) was a downstream effector of RASSF10. RASSF10 acting as a tumor suppressor to inhibit HCC invasion partially mediated by Focal Adhesion Kinase or p38 MAPK to decrease the accumulation of MMP2. Our study suggests that RASSF10 acts as a tumor suppressor for HCC.

Long Noncoding RNA: its partners and their roles in cancer

RNA transcripts, which do not encode proteins, have received considerable attention in recent years. These non-coding RNAs are classified into two groups: small non-coding RNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Increasing evidence suggests that lncRNAs are emerging as key regulators in many biological processes. However, knowledge of the underlying mechanisms whereby they act is still limited. Here, we try to elucidate the way that lncRNAs function in the context of DNA, RNA and protein interaction networks. It is noteworthy that lncRNA and another type of non-coding RNA microRNA (miRNA) may 'talk' to each other more frequently than ever expected. Additionally, lncRNAs display aberrant expression profiles in different kinds of cancers, with their potential roles in carcinogenesis and cancer metastasis. We summarize the effect of some cancer related lncRNAs upon tumor biological events, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis. Finally, we focus on the clinical value of lncRNAs, considering their potential application in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic intervention.

The effects of x-ray radiation on the eye development of zebrafish

The toxic effects of x-ray radiation on eye development was measured using zebrafish as a model organism. Zebrafish embryos at 8 h post-fertilization (hpf) were irradiated using X-rays at doses of 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gy. At 24 and 48 hpf, x-ray radiation induced a significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and cell apoptotic signals. Both of these increases were dose dependent and there were significant positive relationships between them at 24 hpf. At 48 and 72 hpf, the increase of ROS concentration can be eliminated by increasing activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Although the ROS generated by x-ray radiation caused a significant increase in cell apoptosis at 24 and 48 hpf, the cellular layers of the retina and lens formation in the irradiated groups were not significantly disrupted at 144 hpf compared with the control group, with the exception of a heterogeneous distribution of the cells in inner nuclear cell layer and a significant decrease in the diameters of whole eyes after 8 Gy irradiation. X-Ray radiation at later stages of gastrulation may not cause distinct optic complications; however, there is still a risk of microophthalmia at high doses of irradiation.

Usefulness of 3T diffusion-weighted MRI for discrimination of reactive and metastatic cervical lymph nodes in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES

To study the diagnostic accuracy of 3T diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) for the discrimination of reactive and metastatic cervical lymph nodes in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

METHODS

DW T1 and T2 weighted MRI was performed in 25 patients with biopsy-proved primary oral squamous cell carcinoma. The mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of 30 histopathologically proved reactive lymph nodes and 21 histopathologically proved metastatic lymph nodes were compared using an unpaired t-test. A cut-off ADC value with optimal diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve in discrimination of the two groups was determined using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

RESULTS

The mean ADC values of reactive lymph node and metastatic lymph node groups were (1.037 ± 0.149) × 10(-3) and (0.702 ± 0.197) × 10(-3) mm(2) s(-1), respectively. A statistically significant difference in ADC values of the two groups was certified (p < 0.0001). An optimal ADC threshold value of 0.887 × 10(-3) mm(2) s(-1) was suggested as the cut-off point, which resulted in 93.33% sensitivity, 80.95% specificity, 88.20% accuracy and area under curve of 0.887.

CONCLUSIONS

Our preliminary study indicates that the addition of 3T DW-MRI may be useful for discriminating between reactive lymph nodes and metastatic lymph nodes in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, larger studies are still required to validate our results and to standardize this imaging technique for daily clinical practice.

Online learning control by association and reinforcement

This paper focuses on a systematic treatment for developing a generic online learning control system based on the fundamental principle of reinforcement learning or more specifically neural dynamic programming. This online learning system improves its performance over time in two aspects: 1) it learns from its own mistakes through the reinforcement signal from the external environment and tries to reinforce its action to improve future performance; and 2) system states associated with the positive reinforcement is memorized through a network learning process where in the future, similar states will be more positively associated with a control action leading to a positive reinforcement. A successful candidate of online learning control design is introduced. Real-time learning algorithms is derived for individual components in the learning system. Some analytical insight is provided to give guidelines on the learning process took place in each module of the online learning control system.

Principle component feature detector for motor cortical control

Principle component analysis (PCA) was performed on recorded neuronal action potentials from neural ensembles in rat's motor cortex when the rat was involved in a closed-loop real-time brain machine interface (BCI). The implanted rat was placed in a conditioning chamber, but freely moving, to decide which one of the two paddles should be activated to shift the light to the center. It is found that the principle component feature vectors revealed the importance of individual neurons and their temporal dynamics in relation to the intention of activating either left or right paddle. In addition, the first principle component feature has much higher discriminative capability than others although it represents only a few percentage of the total variance. Using the first principle component with the Bayes classifier achieved 90% classification accuracy, which is comparable with the accuracy obtained by a more sophisticated high performance support vector classifiers.

Schistosoma japonicum triose-phosphate isomerase plasmid DNA vaccine protects pigs against challenge infection

The protective efficacy of a Schistosoma japonicum, Chinese strain, triose-phosphate isomerase (TPI) plasmid DNA vaccine was examined in naïve pigs. Pigs were vaccinated with the TPI DNA-plasmid alone, or in conjunction with IL-12 as pcDNA3.1-P35, pcDNA3.1-P40 plasmids via intramuscular injection. Control pigs were immunized with equivalent amounts of pcDNA3.1. Pigs were immunized 3 times at 21-day intervals and challenged 30 days after the final boost. Forty-five days post-challenge, pigs were sacrificed and perfused to compare adult worm burdens, female worm burdens, liver egg burdens and granuloma size. We found that pigs vaccinated with SjCTPI DNA alone had adult worm burdens reduced by 48.3% and that a further decrease in adult worm burdens was not seen in the group vaccinated with SjCTPI DNA in conjunction with IL-12 (46.2% reduction). The SjCTPI DNA vaccines had a more pronounced effect on reducing female worm burdens i.e. 53.6% SjCTPI alone and 59.6% for SjCTPI+IL-12. Vaccination with SjCTPI-DNA reduced liver eggs by 49.4% and this response was significantly enhanced by the addition of IL-12 (65.8% reduction in liver eggs). In addition to the dramatic protective effects seen in vaccinated pigs, we also noted that granuloma size was reduced by 42% in both groups. Thus, vaccination of pigs and other large animals in China with SjCTPI DNA vaccine will likely reduce transmission by reducing adult worm burdens and worm egg output and simultaneously reduce hepatic egg-associated pathology.

Validation of the in vitro gastrointestinal (IVG) method to estimate relative bioavailable lead in contaminated soils

The effect of the dosing vehicle (e.g., dough) on the ability of an in vitro gastrointestinal (IVG) method to predict relative bioavailable Pb associated with soil ingestion was evaluated. Bioaccessible Pb determined by the IVG method was compared with relative bioavailable Pb measured from dosing trials using juvenile swine for 18 contaminated soils ranging from 1270 to 14200 mg Pb kg(-1). Bioaccessible Pb was measured in the IVG gastric extraction (GE) and intestinal extraction (IE) solutions. Mean bioaccessible Pb values were 32.2% for GE without dough, 23.0% for GE with dough, 1.06% for IE without dough, and 0.56% for IE with dough. It is possible that phytic acid associated with the dough addition decreased bioaccessible Pb. In vivo relative bioavailable Pb ranges for different swine tissues were 1 to 87% for blood, 0 to 110% for liver, 1 to 124% for kidney, and 0.04 to 94% for bone. Strong linear relationships between IVG GE Pb with dough (r > 0.76, P < 0.0002), IVG IE Pb with dough (r > 0.56, P < 0.015), and IVG GE Pb without dough (r > 0.81, P < 0.0001) and in vivo bioavailable Pb as estimated with blood, kidney, liver, and bone were found. Inexpensive in vitro methods may be useful in providing an estimate of the variability in relative bioavailable Pb at a single study site. The IVG method can be used to estimate relative bioavailable Pb, As, and Cd in contaminated soil.

[Protective immunity induced by 23 kDa membrane protein DNA vaccine of Schistosoma japonicum Chinese strain in mice]

OBJECTIVE

To develop 23 kDa membrane protein DNA vaccine of Schistosoma japonicum Chinese strain and test its protective efficacy in infected C57BL/6 mice.

METHODS

The full length cDNA encoding SjC23 amplified from pUC19-SjC23 subcloned into pcDNA3.1. 48 female mice were divided into three groups: A, B and C. Group A (control group) was each immunized i.m. with 100 micrograms of pcDNA3.1; group B (SjC23 group) was each immunized i.m. with 100 micrograms of pcDNA3.1-SjC23; group C (SjC23 + IL-12) was each immunized i.m. with a mixture of 100 micrograms of pcDNA3.1-SjC23, 100 micrograms of pcDNA3.1-p35 and 100 micrograms of pcDNA-p40, followed by two boosts of the same DNA once every two weeks. All the mice were challenged with 45 cercariae at week 8, killed and perfused for worms at week 14. The expression of SjC23 and p35, p40 in muscle tissue was determined by immuno-histochemical method. By the culture of spleen cells, the production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 and IFN-gamma after the stimulation of rSjC23-HD was determined two weeks before and after challenge. Anti-SjC23 antibodies were tested by Western blotting.

RESULTS

SjC23 and p35, p40 were all expressed on the membrane and in the plasma of muscle cells of the infected mice. Significant increase of IL-2 and IFN-gamma in SjC23 and SjC23 + IL-12 groups was observed before and after challenge. Western blotting showed that after the third immunization (before challenge) 8 out of 10 sera from SjC23 group and 9 out of 10 sera from SjC23 + IL-12 group were positive. The worm reduction rate in SjC23 group and SjC23 + IL-12 group was 26.9% and 35.4%, respectively; the number of eggs in liver tissue was reduced by 22.2% and 28.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

pcDNA3.1-SjC23 DNA vaccine could induce partial protection against Schistosoma japonicum in C57BL/6 mice.

Establishment of an animal model of chronic atrophic gastritis and a study on the factors inducing atrophy

OBJECTIVE

To establish a rat model of chronic atrophic gastritis and explore the factors inducing atrophy.

METHODS

In accordance with repeated orthogonal design of L8(2(7)), 60% alcohol and 20 mmol/L sodium deoxycholate (served as factor A), 0.05%-0.1% ammonia water (factor B), 0.05% indomethacin (factor C) were given, alone or in combination, to rats in three experiments for 3 months, 6 months or 9 months respectively. Then the rats were dissected, and their pathologic changes of the gastric mucosa were assessed.

RESULTS

Typical signs of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) were found in all rats which were treated with factor A, B, C alone or in combination for 6 or 9 months. No significant difference of pathologic changes of gastric mucosa was found between the rats treated for 6 months and those for 9 months. No obvious CAG signs were found in the rats treated with factor A, B, C for 3 months.

CONCLUSION

Sixty percent of alcohol, 20 mmol/L sodium deoxycholate, 0.05%-0.1% ammonia water and 0.05% indomethacin given to Sprague-Dawley rats for 6 months can successfully establish the animal model of CAG. Prolongation of the model-establishment time is not able to further facilitate the atrophy of gastric mucosa.

Relationship of dietary lysine level to the concentration of all essential amino acids in broiler diets

A study was conducted to evaluate the relationship of dietary Lys and other essential amino acids (EAA) in diets for broilers. Diets were formulated based upon NRC (1994) recommendations. Within each age period, diets contained NRC recommended levels of Lys with other EAA at 100, 110, 120, or 130% of NRC. The diets were then supplemented with 0.1, 0.2, or 0.3% additional Lys, resulting in a 4 x 4 factorial arrangement with four levels of Lys (NRC, + 0.1%, + 0.2%, and + 0.3% Lys) and four levels of other EAA (100, 110, 120, and 130% of NRC). Each of the 16 treatments was fed to six replicate pens of 25 male broilers of a commercial strain. At 56 d, five birds per pen were processed to determine dressing percentage and carcass yield. There were no significant interactions between level of Lys and levels of other EAA for live performance or carcass characteristics. The BW was significantly increased at 21 and 42 d by addition of + 0.1% Lys above NRC but not at 56 d. There was no significant effect of other EAA on BW at any age. The effects of Lys on feed conversion were varied. At 21 and 42 d, addition of 0.1% Lys to diets containing the NRC Lys level significantly improved feed conversion; response to 0.2 or 0.3% Lys were varied. No significant effects of Lys on feed conversion were observed at 56 d. Increasing the level of EAA resulted in significant improvements in feed conversion at 21, 42, and 56 d, generally following a linear trend. Dietary Lys levels had no significant effects on dressing percentage, breast meat yield, or abdominal fat content. The level of other EAA significantly influenced dressed yield but had no significant influence on carcass yield. These results indicate that NRC (1994) levels of Lys and other EAA are adequate for optimum performance of male broilers processed at 56 d but may be less than adequate at younger ages.

Photoinduced stable second-harmonic generation in chalcogenide glasses

We report on photoinduced second-harmonic generation (SHG) in chalcogenide glasses. Fundamental and second-harmonic waves from a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser were used to induce second-order nonlinearity in chalcogenide glasses. The magnitude of SHG in 20G?20A?60S glass was 10(4) larger than that of tellurite glass with a composition of 15Nb(2)O (5) 85TeO(2) (mol.%). Moreover, no apparent decay of photoinduced SHG in 20G?20A?60S glass was observed after optical poling at room temperature. We suggest that the large and stable value of chi((2)) is due to the induced defect structures and large chi((3)) of the chalcogenide glasses.

[The effect of epidermal growth factor on the pathologic changes of gastric mucosa in SD rats with chronic atrophic gastritis]

OBJECTIVE

To study the effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the pathologic changes of gastric mucosa in rats with chronic atrophic gastritis(CAG).

METHODS

The established rat models of CAG were divided into therapy group and control group. The rats in the therapy group received EGF 10 microg/kg subcutaneously (SC), whereas these in the control group the same volume of normal saline SC. 12 weeks later, all rats were killed by cervical dislocation and their gastric mucosa were examined with microscope.

RESULTS

The grade of inflammatory cell infiltration in the therapy group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.01). The thickness of gastric mucosal gland layer was (215.0 +/- 20.7) microm in the therapy group and (139.2 +/- 13.8) microm in the control group (P < 0.01). The ratio of the thickness of gastric mucosal glands and muscularis mucosa(L(1)/L(2)) was 2.70 +/- 0.34 in the therapy group and 1.27 +/- 0.27 in the control group (P < 0.01). The number of gastric glands in 1 mm length of mucosal layer was 26.20 +/- 1.27 in the therapy group and 19.90 +/- 1.78 in the control group (P < 0.01). In the therapy group, the gastric glands were rearranged in order, without signs of malignant proliferation. The width of the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA ) of gastric mucosa was higher in the therapy group than in the control group [(77.70 +/- 4.16) microm vs (54.40 +/- 4.54) microm, P < 0.01].

CONCLUSIONS

EGF played a therapeutic role in reversing the gastric mucosal atrophy of the rats with CAG. It promoted the expression of PCNA, which induced a protective proliferation of the gastric mucosal lesions in the rats with CAG.

Changes in serum ammonia concentration in cirrhotic patients with Helicobacter pylori infection

OBJECTIVE

To study whether liver cirrhosis associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection will induce increased serum ammonia and whether the peripheral serum ammonia reflects the level of portal vein serum ammonia.

METHODS

Blood was taken from the portal vein and the cubital vein in cirrhotic patients with and without H. pylori infection and non-cirrhotic patients (splenic rupture) with and without H. pylori infection, and the serum ammonia was measured.

RESULTS

The mean levels of serum ammonia in the group of cirrhotic patients with H. pylori infection were 167.82 +/- 8.97 mumol/L (portal vein) and 142.2 +/- 13.35 mumol/L (cubital vein). They were increased significantly as compared with cirrhotic patients without H. pylori infection (47.68 +/- 12.03 mumol/L portal vein and 37.23 +/- 7.04 mumol/L cubital vein), and also compared with the groups of splenic rupture patients with and without H. pylori infection (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the serum ammonia level of the cubital vein and portal vein (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

H. pylori infection can induce an increase in serum ammonia in patients with liver dysfunction, and the peripheral serum ammonia measurement may replace the portal vein serum ammonia as a monitoring method. Eradication of H. pylori in cirrhotic patients may prevent hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

[Assay and L1 gene sequence analysis of human papillomavirus type 6 and 11 in condylomata acuminata]

OBJECTIVE

To determinate the prevalence of HPV type 6, 11 in condylomata acuminata, and analyze the sequence of L1 gene and its deduced L1 protein.

METHODS

PCR was used to amplify DNA sequences between E6 and E7 of HPV type 6 and 11. The PCR products were identified by the fragment length cleaved with restriction enzyme RsaI. L1 genes were amplified with high fidelity Taq, and cloned DNA sequences were detected by the dideoxynucleotide method.

RESULTS

In 34 examples of condylomata acuminata, HPV11 was found in 25 examples (73.5%), HPV6 in 15(44.1%), including HPV6 + HPV11 in 6(17.6%). In comparison with the prototypes there were 7-8 point mutations in HPV11 L1 gene and 3 in HPV6L1 gene. L1 encoded protein changes showed up only in 1-3 amino acids in the former cases.

CONCLUSION

Most of patients tested with condylomata acuminata are mainly infected by HPV11, the rest of them by HPV6 or by co-infection of two mixex types. Sequence analysis of L1 genes indicated that mutations were found in both HPV6 and 11, whereas deduced amino acid mutations in L1 protein were limited in HPV11 only.

Dynamic topology representing networks

In the present paper, we propose a new algorithm, namely the Dynamic Topology Representing Networks (DTRN) for learning both topology and clustering information from input data. In contrast to other models with adaptive architecture of this kind, the DTRN algorithm adaptively grows the number of output nodes by applying a vigilance test. The clustering procedure is based on a winner-take-quota learning strategy in conjunction with an annealing process in order to minimize the associated mean square error. A competitive Hebbian rule is applied to learn the global topology information concurrently with the clustering process. The topology information learned is also utilized for dynamically deleting the nodes and for the annealing process. Properties of the DTRN algorithm will be discussed. Extensive simulations will be provided to characterize the effectiveness of the new algorithm in topology preserving, learning speed, and classification tasks as compared to other algorithms of the same nature.

[Study on genuineness of traditional Chinese medicine cortex Magnoliae officinalis]

It's found that a significant correlation between the samples of Magnoliae officinalis from the provenance in phenols content and varieties or forms. The total content of magnolol and honokiol in its bark is usually used as an index to measure the quality. Therefore, Cortex Magnoliae officinalis produced in Sichuan and Hubei being considered genuinenss and good in quality, should be actually referred to local varieties. This conclusion can also reveals the nature and scientific connotation of genuineness on Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis.

Modified theory of photoinduced molecular polar alignment in azo polymers

An improvement on the simplified theory of all-optical poling [Chem. Phys. Lett. 286, 415 (1998)] is proposed. In this improvement the influence of the cis isomer is taken into account in the process of photoinduced molecular polar alignment. An analytical expression for the induced polar order in the steady-state regime is derived. This expression shows that, although the contribution to the photoinduced second-order susceptibility from the cis state itself can be neglected, the population of the cis state plays an important role. This result suggests the possibility that one can improve the induced polar order by increasing the poling temperature, so that thermal-assisted optical poling can be explained.

Neuregulin-increased expression of acetylcholine receptor epsilon-subunit gene requires ErbB interaction with Shc

Selective transcription of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) subunit genes by neuregulin is one of the mechanisms involved in the synaptic localization of AChRs to the neuromuscular junction. Neuregulin stimulates ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases and subsequently activates the Ras/ERK pathway, which is required for neuregulin-mediated induction of AChR subunit genes in muscle cells and synapse-specific expression in vivo. Here we investigated the neuregulin transduction mechanism that leads to ERK activation after ErbB receptor tyrosine phosphorylation. Neuregulin increases the association of the adaptor proteins Grb2 and Shc with both ErbB2 and ErbB3 in C2C12 muscle cells. Dephosphorylation of the tyrosine-phosphorylated ErbB proteins abolished their association with both Grb2 and Shc, suggesting a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent interaction. The interaction of Shc with the ErbB receptors is mediated by Shc's phosphotyrosine-binding domain. In addition, neuregulin increased tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc. Mutagenesis approaches demonstrated that tyrosine phosphorylation of Shc is required for neuregulin induction of AChR subunit gene expression. Taken together, these data indicate that the interaction of ErbB receptors with Grb2 alone is insufficient for neuregulin-activated transcription, but that ErbB receptor signaling via Shc is necessary and important.

Regulation of neuregulin-mediated acetylcholine receptor synthesis by protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2

Synapse-specific expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is believed to be mediated by neuregulin, an epidermal growth factor-like trophic factor released by somatic motoneurons at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Neuregulin stimulates ErbB2, ErbB3, and ErbB4, members of the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases. SHP2 is a cytoplasmic protein tyrosine phosphatase containing two Src homology 2 domains near its N terminus, and has been shown to be a positive mediator of mitogenic responses to various growth factors. We found that SHP2 interacted with ErbB2 and ErbB3 after neuregulin stimulation of muscle cells. Expression of SHP2 in C2C12 mouse muscle cells attenuated the neuregulin-induced expression of an AChR epsilon-promoter reporter gene, whereas a catalytically inactive SHP2 mutant or a mutant lacking the N-terminal Src homology 2 (SH2) domain enhanced reporter expression, suggesting that SHP2 negatively regulates the neuregulin signaling pathway. In fibroblast cells that express a mutant SHP2 with a targeted deletion of the N-terminal SH2 domain, neuregulin-mediated activation of the Ras/Raf/extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascade was enhanced. Furthermore, we found that SHP2 immunoreactivity colocalized with the staining of alpha-bungarotoxin, a marker of the NMJ. These results demonstrate a negative role of SHP2 in the neuregulin signal that leads to AChR gene expression at the NMJ.