Size- and concentration-dependent effects of microplastics on soil aggregate formation and properties

Plastics fragment and threaten soil ecosystems. Degradation of soil structure is one of the risks. Despite this, data on impacts of different sized microplastics (MPs) on soil aggregates is lacking. This study systematically investigated the effects of pristine polyethylene powders of different sizes (< 35, < 125, < 500 µm) and concentrations (0, 0.1, 1.0, 10 wt%) on aggregate formation and their properties for two contrasting soils (woodland soil, WS; agricultural soil, AS). 75 day wet-dry cycles produced newly-formed aggregates in all treatments. MP size and concentration impacted the incorporation of MPs in aggregates and this varied with aggregate size; the size distribution of aggregates also varied with MP size and concentration. Aggregates produced in soil containing 10 wt% < 35 µm MPs had significantly lower MWDs (mean weight diameters) than controls. The wettability of aggregates (> 4 mm) reduced with increasing MP exposure concentration and decreasing MP exposure size. MP incorporation decreased the water stability of aggregates (1-2 mm) in WS but increased it in AS. The particle density of aggregates (> 4 mm) significantly decreased with increasing MP concentration, whereas MP size had no effect. As MPs breakdown, fragment and become smaller over time, their potential risk to the aggregated structure of soil increases.

Gold(I) ion and the phosphine ligand are necessary for the anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity of auranofin

Auranofin, an FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis, has emerged as a promising antiparasitic medication in recent years. The gold(I) ion in auranofin is postulated to be responsible for its antiparasitic activity. Notably, aurothiomalate and aurothioglucose also contain gold(I), and, like auranofin, they were previously used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Whether they have antiparasitic activity remains to be elucidated. Herein, we demonstrated that auranofin and similar derivatives, but not aurothiomalate and aurothioglucose, inhibited the growth of Toxoplasma gondii in vitro. We found that auranofin affected the T. gondii biological cycle (lytic cycle) by inhibiting T. gondii's invasion and triggering its egress from the host cell. However, auranofin could not prevent parasite replication once T. gondii resided within the host. Auranofin treatment induced apoptosis in T. gondii parasites, as demonstrated by its reduced size and elevated phosphatidylserine externalization (PS). Notably, the gold from auranofin enters the cytoplasm of T. gondii, as demonstrated by scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).IMPORTANCEToxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is a devastating disease affecting the brain and the eyes, frequently affecting immunocompromised individuals. Approximately 60 million people in the United States are already infected with T. gondii, representing a population at-risk of developing toxoplasmosis. Recent advances in treating cancer, autoimmune diseases, and organ transplants have contributed to this at-risk population's exponential growth. Paradoxically, treatments for toxoplasmosis have remained the same for more than 60 years, relying on medications well-known for their bone marrow toxicity and allergic reactions. Discovering new therapies is a priority, and repurposing FDA-approved drugs is an alternative approach to speed up drug discovery. Herein, we report the effect of auranofin, an FDA-approved drug, on the biological cycle of T. gondii and how both the phosphine ligand and the gold molecule determine the anti-parasitic activity of auranofin and other gold compounds. Our studies would contribute to the pipeline of candidate anti-T. gondii agents.

Ethanol, not water, should be used as the dispersant when measuring microplastic particle size distribution by laser diffraction

Size distribution is a crucial characteristic of microplastics (MPs). A typical method for measuring this property is wet laser diffraction. However, when measuring size distributions of MPs, despite it being a poor dispersant for many MPs, water is commonly selected, potentially limiting the reliability of reported measurements. To evaluate dispersant suitability, different aqueous concentrations of ethanol (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100 wt%) and aqueous solutions of 0.001 wt% Triton X-100 and a mixture comprising 10 wt% sodium pyrophosphate and 10 wt% methanol were used as dispersants in a laser granulometer (Mastersizer 2000) to determine particle size distributions (PSDs) of granular polyethylene MP35, MP125 and MP500 particles (nominally <35, <125 and, < 500 μm in size). The reliability of the PSDs depended on the dispersant used and size of primary MPs. With increasing ethanol concentrations, PSD curves of MP35 particles shifted from multi-modal to mono-modal distributions. The measured size distribution reduced from 1588.7 to 4.5 μm in water to 39.9 to 0.1 μm in 100 wt% ethanol. Generally, as ethanol concentration increased, uncertainty associated with the PSD parameters decreased. Although Triton X-100 and the mixed solution also showed better dispersion than water, measured particle sizes and coefficient of variation (COV, %) were notably larger than those for 100 wt% ethanol. Similar trends were observed for larger-sized MP125 and MP500 particles, but differences in PSD curves, PSD parameters, and COV (%) among dispersants were less pronounced. In all dispersants, the volume weighted mean diameters (VWMD) in 100 wt% ethanol (MP35: 14.1 μm, MP125: 102.5 μm, MP500: 300.0 μm) were smallest and close to diameters determined from microscope observations (MP35: 14.6 μm, MP125: 109.0 μm, MP500: 310.6 μm). Therefore, for accurate determinations of the PSDs of MP by wet laser diffraction, ethanol rather than water should be used as the dispersant.

A Ferroptosis Microneedle Integrated Wireless Implanted Photodynamic Therapy Pellet for Cancer Treatment

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Effective, non-toxic, and targeted induction of lung cancer cell death is urgently needed. The goal of this research is to create a new implantable battery-free therapeutic pellet with integrated drug microneedles that allows for wireless photodynamic therapy (PDT) and targeted release of a ferroptosis inducer (Imidazole ketone erastin, IKE) into tumor tissue.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A wireless power unit, μ-LED illuminant, a flexible control circuit, and an IKE-stored biodegradable microneedle enclosed in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were all built into an integrated therapeutic pellet. Lung cancer cells were used to illustrate the in vitro viability and molecular biological processes of this system. Therapeutic pellet implanted into the LLC xenograft C57BL/6 model. PDT was conducted by 660 nm laser irradiation after injecting a photosensitizer (Chlorin e6, Ce6) and targeted IKE released into the tumor. Systematically analyzing the therapeutic effects on lung cancer and toxic side-effects.

RESULTS

The PDT-IKE group reduced cellular viability by 90% compared to the control group at the cellular level. In mouse model studies, the PDT-IKE group suppressed tumors at 78.8%, three or four times greater than the PDT (26.6%) or IKE (19.2%) group alone. The PDT-IKE group also controlled IKE release more precisely with heated electrodes, reducing nephrotoxicity and improving safety. Moreover, the combination of PDT and IKE can effectively cause ferroptosis in tumor cells, both in vivo and in vitro.

CONCLUSION

A new implantable battery-free therapeutic pellet was designed for wireless PDT with integrated IKE microneedles to induce obvious ferroptosis in lung cancer. The proposed pellet would provide a promising strategy for cancer treatment.

Performance Comparison of Computational Methods for the Prediction of the Function and Pathogenicity of Non-coding Variants

Non-coding variants in the human genome significantly influence human traits and complex diseases via their regulation and modification effects. Hence, an increasing number of computational methods are developed to predict the effects of variants in human non-coding sequences. However, it is difficult for inexperienced users to select appropriate computational methods from dozens of available methods. To solve this issue, we assessed 12 performance metrics of 24 methods on four independent non-coding variant benchmark datasets: (1) rare germline variants from clinical relevant sequence variants (ClinVar), (2) rare somatic variants from Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer (COSMIC), (3) common regulatory variants from curated expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) data, and (4) disease-associated common variants from curated genome-wide association studies (GWAS). All 24 tested methods performed differently under various conditions, indicating varying strengths and weaknesses under different scenarios. Importantly, the performance of existing methods was acceptable for rare germline variants from ClinVar with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.4481-0.8033 and poor for rare somatic variants from COSMIC (AUROC = 0.4984-0.7131), common regulatory variants from curated eQTL data (AUROC = 0.4837-0.6472), and disease-associated common variants from curated GWAS (AUROC = 0.4766-0.5188). We also compared the prediction performance of 24 methods for non-coding de novo mutations in autism spectrum disorder, and found that the combined annotation-dependent depletion (CADD) and context-dependent tolerance score (CDTS) methods showed better performance. Summarily, we assessed the performance of 24 computational methods under diverse scenarios, providing preliminary advice for proper tool selection and guiding the development of new techniques in interpreting non-coding variants.

[Directed differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into midbrain]

OBJECTIVE

To establish an efficient protocol for directed differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) into functional midbrain dopaminergic progenitor cells (DAPs) in vitro.

METHODS

hiPSCs were induced to differentiate into DAPs in two developmental stages. In the first stage (the first 13 days), hiPSCs were induced into intermediate cells morphologically similar to primitive neuroepithelial cells (NECs) in neural induction medium containing a combination of small molecule compounds. In the second stage, the intermediate cells were further induced in neural differentiation medium until day 28 to obtain DAPs. After CM-DiI staining, the induced DAPs were stereotactically transplanted into the right medial forebrain bundle (MFB) of rat models of Parkinson's disease (PD). Eight weeks after transplantation, the motor behaviors of PD rats was evaluated. Immunofluorescence assay of brain sections of the rats was performed at 2 weeks after transplantation to observe the survival, migration and differentiation of the transplanted cells in the host brain microenvironment.

RESULTS

hiPSCs passaged stably on Matrigel showed a normal diploid karyotype, expressed the pluripotency markers OCT4, SOX2, and Nanog, and were positive for alkaline phosphatase. The primitive neuroepithelial cells obtained on day 13 formed dense cell colonies in the form of neural rosettes and expressed the neuroepithelial markers (SOX2, Nestin, and PAX6, 91.3%-92.8%). The DAPs on day 28 highly expressed the specific markers (TH, FOXA2, LMX1A and NURR1, 93.3-96.7%). In rat models of PD, the hiPSCs-DAPs survived and differentiated into TH⁺, FOXA2⁺ and Tuj1⁺ neurons at 2 weeks after transplantation. Eight weeks after transplantation, the motor function of PD rats was significantly improved as shown by water maze test (P < 0.0001) and apomorphine-induced rotation test (P < 0.0001) compared with rats receiving vehicle injection.

CONCLUSION

HiPSCs can be effectively induced to differentiate into DAPs capable of differentiating into functional neurons both in vivo and in vitro. In rat models of PD, the transplanted hiPSCs-DAPs can survive for more than 8 weeks in the MFB and differentiate into multiple functional neurocytes to ameliorate neurological deficits of the rats, suggesting the potential value of hiPSCs-DAPs transplantation for treatment of neurological diseases.

[Efficacy of one-stage total spondylectomy and circumferential reconstruction for axial tumors through a combined anterior retropharyngeal-posterior approach]

Objective: To elucidate the safety and efficacy of one-stage total spondylectomy and circumferential reconstruction through a combined anterior retropharyngeal-posterior approach for axial tumors. Methods: A total of 20 patients with axial tumor who received total spondylectomy through a combined anterior retropharyngeal-posterior approach in Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from February 2006 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Anterior reconstruction was performed with a special-shaped titanium mesh or three-dimensional printed (3DP) implants. The degree of local pain and neurological function was assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Frankel classification systems, respectively. Status of internal fixation and local recurrence was analyzed by radiological examination during follow-up. Results: Among the 20 patients, 12 were male and 8 were female with a mean age of (59.1±11.0) years (31 to 72 years). The mean operation time was (605.0±60.1) minutes (430 to 700 minutes) with a mean intraoperative blood loss of (1 250±347) ml (800 to 2 400 ml). The mean postoperative hospital stay was (13.2±2.8) days (8 to 20 days), and mean follow-up duration was (37.2±14.2) months(14 to 66 months). Anterior reconstructions were performed with a special-shaped titanium mesh in 14 patients and with 3DP implants in another 6 patients. Posterior occipital-cervical fixation was performed in 5 patients, while cervical fixation only in another 15 patients. The mean VAS score of pain at the last follow-up decreased significantly when compared with that before operation (1.6±0.6 vs 7.1±1.1, P<0.001). Nine patients with neurological deficits indicated significant improvement by at least 1 level at the last follow-up; among them, 2 cases of Frankel B improved to Frankel C and D, respectively; 3 cases of Frankel C all improved to Frankel D, and 4 cases of Frankel D improved to Frankel E. The perioperative complications included: 2 cases of vertebral artery injury, 2 cases of dysphagia, 3 cases of hoarseness and cough, 2 cases of cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and 1 case of greater occipital neuralgia. At the last follow-up, 5 patients died and 3 patients relapsed. Only 1 case suffered fixation failure due to local recurrence at the last follow up. Conclusions: One-stage total spondylectomy and circumferential reconstruction through a combined anterior retropharyngeal-posterior approach is safe and effective for axial tumors with favorable clinical outcomes and minor complications. Circumferential reconstruction with special-shaped titanium mesh or 3DP implant and posterior fixation can effectively reconstruct mechanical stability.

SLIT2 Rare Sequencing Variants Identified in Idiopathic Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism

INTRODUCTION

Idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) is a rare reproductive disorder resulting from gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) deficiency. However, in only approximately half of patients with IHH is it possible to identify a likely molecular diagnosis. Mice lacking Slit2 have a reduced number or altered patterning of GnRH neurons in the brain. In order to assess the contribution of SLIT2 to IHH, we carried out a candidate gene burden test analysis.

METHODS

A total of 196 IHH probands and 2,362 ethic-matched controls were recruited for this study. The IHH probands and controls were subjected to whole-exome sequencing. In the IHH patients with SLIT2 variants and their available family members, detailed phenotyping and segregation analysis were performed.

RESULTS

Nine heterozygous SLIT2 rare sequencing variants (RSVs) were identified in 13 probands, with a prevalence of 6.6%. Furthermore, we identified an increased mutational burden for SLIT2 in this cohort (odds ratio = 2.2, p = 0.021). The segregation analysis of available IHH families revealed that the majority of SLIT2 RSVs were inherited from unaffected or partially affected parents.

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests SLIT2 as a new IHH-associated gene and expands the clinical and genetic spectrum of IHH. Furthermore, SLIT2 alone does not appear to be sufficient to cause the disorder, and it may interact with other IHH-associated genes to induce a clinical phenotype.

Performance evaluation of differential splicing analysis methods and splicing analytics platform construction

A proportion of previously defined benign variants or variants of uncertain significance in humans, which are challenging to identify, may induce an abnormal splicing process. An increasing number of methods have been developed to predict splicing variants, but their performance has not been completely evaluated using independent benchmarks. Here, we manually sourced ∼50 000 positive/negative splicing variants from > 8000 studies and selected the independent splicing variants to evaluate the performance of prediction methods. These methods showed different performances in recognizing splicing variants in donor and acceptor regions, reminiscent of different weight coefficient applications to predict novel splicing variants. Of these methods, 66.67% exhibited higher specificities than sensitivities, suggesting that more moderate cut-off values are necessary to distinguish splicing variants. Moreover, the high correlation and consistent prediction ratio validated the feasibility of integration of the splicing prediction method in identifying splicing variants. We developed a splicing analytics platform called SPCards, which curates splicing variants from publications and predicts splicing scores of variants in genomes. SPCards also offers variant-level and gene-level annotation information, including allele frequency, non-synonymous prediction and comprehensive functional information. SPCards is suitable for high-throughput genetic identification of splicing variants, particularly those located in non-canonical splicing regions.

Body mass index increases the recurrence risk of breast cancer: a dose-response meta-analysis from 21 prospective cohort studies

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the recurrence risk of breast cancer.

STUDY DESIGN

Dose-response meta-analysis.

METHODS

Cohort studies that included BMI and the recurrence of breast cancer were selected through various databases including PubMed, Web of Science, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Scientific Journals (VIP), and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform (WanFang) until November 30, 2021. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of literature. A two-stage random-effects meta-analysis was performed to assess the dose-response relationship between BMI and breast cancer recurrence risk. Heterogeneity between studies is assessed using I².

RESULTS

The relative risk (RR) of BMI <25 kg/m² vs BMI ≥25 kg/m², BMI <30 kg/m² vs BMI ≥30 kg/m² were 1.09 (95% CI: 1.00-1.19) and 1.15 (95% CI: 1.04-1.27), suggesting that BMI had a significant effect on the recurrence risk of breast cancer, and there might be a dose-response relationship between them. A total of 21 studies were included in dose-response meta-analysis, which showed that there was a positive linear correlation between BMI and the risk of recurrence (RR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.03). For every 1 kg/m² increment of BMI, the risk of recurrence increased by approximately 2%. In subgroup analyses, positive linear dose-response relationships between BMI and recurrence risk were observed among Asian and study period >10 years groups. For every 1 kg/m² increment of BMI, the risk of recurrence increased by 3.41% and 1.87%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The recurrence risk of breast cancer increases with BMI, which is most obvious among Asian women.

MiRNA-616 aggravates the progression of bladder cancer by regulating cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis through downregulating SOX7

The article "MiRNA-616 aggravates the progression of bladder cancer by regulating cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis through downregulating SOX7, by X. Zhao, D. Li, S.-T. Zhao, Y. Zhang, A. Xu, Y.-Y. Hu, Z. Fang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (21): 9304-9312-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201911_19423-PMID: 31773697" has been retracted by the authors due to controversial issues in some inconsistencies in the data provided. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/19423.

Profiling the Genome-Wide Landscape of Short Tandem Repeats by Long-Read Sequencing

Background: Short tandem repeats (STRs) are highly variable elements that play a pivotal role in multiple genetic diseases and the regulation of gene expression. Long-read sequencing (LRS) offers a potential solution to genome-wide STR analysis. However, characterizing STRs in human genomes using LRS on a large population scale has not been reported.

Methods: We conducted the large LRS-based STR analysis in 193 unrelated samples of the Chinese population and performed genome-wide profiling of STR variation in the human genome. The repeat dynamic index (RDI) was introduced to evaluate the variability of STR. We sourced the expression data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression to explore the tissue specificity of highly variable STRs related genes across tissues. Enrichment analyses were also conducted to identify potential functional roles of the high variable STRs.

Results: This study reports the large-scale analysis of human STR variation by LRS and offers a reference STR database based on the LRS dataset. We found that the disease-associated STRs (dSTRs) and STRs associated with the expression of nearby genes (eSTRs) were highly variable in the general population. Moreover, tissue-specific expression analysis showed that those highly variable STRs related genes presented the highest expression level in brain tissues, and enrichment pathways analysis found those STRs are involved in synaptic function-related pathways.

Conclusion: Our study profiled the genome-wide landscape of STR using LRS and highlighted the highly variable STRs in the human genome, which provide a valuable resource for studying the role of STRs in human disease and complex traits.

Mathematical model and experiment analysis of pressure fluctuation inside dual-stack drainage system in residential buildings

The final velocity was put forward to study the water flow characteristics inside the building drainage system; however, it is more suitable for low-rise and multi-storey buildings, not for high-rise buildings. This study revealed the drainage transient characteristics of a double stack drainage system in high-rise residential buildings. Based on the final velocity, the air-water interaction mechanism and two-phase flow conditions in high-rise residential drainage stacks were discussed. An influence model of drainage system flow rate on pressure fluctuation under the change of state parameters such as ventilation rate, pipe wall roughness and building height was established. The pressure limit and flow rate data were obtained through full-scale experiments. The pressure limit and flow rate model were simplified to P_n = A ċ Q² + B ċ Q^1:81 + C. After the data were verified, the fitting coefficients A, B and C were linear to the floor height.

Efficacy and safety of closed-loop insulin delivery versus sensor-augmented pump in the treatment of adults with type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Controversy remains regarding whether closed-loop (CL) insulin delivery or insulin sensor-augmented pump (SAP) delivery is more efficient for clinical treatment. Therefore, we aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of CL insulin delivery systems versus insulin SAP delivery for adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

METHODS

Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and other databases were searched for related articles, and we analyzed the average blood glucose (BG), time in range (TIR), and adverse effects (AEs) as primary endpoints to evaluate efficacy and safety.

RESULTS

Of 1616 articles, 12 randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) were included in the final analysis. Regarding BG control efficacy, CL insulin delivery resulted better outcomes than SAP therapy with regard to the average BG value, which was detected and recorded by continuous glucose monitoring (mean difference [MD][mmol/L]:  - 0.25 95% confidence interval [CI]  - 0.42 to - 0.08, p = 0.003); TIR 3.9-10 mmol/L (MD [%]: 7.91 95% CI 4.45-11.37, p < 0.00001). Similar results were observed for the secondary outcomes including low blood glucose index (LBGI) (MD:  - 0.41 95% CI - 0.55 to - 0.26, p < 0.00001), high blood glucose index (HBGI) (MD:  - 2.56 95% CI - 3.38 to - 1.74, p < 0.00001), and standard deviation (SD) of glucose variability (MD [mmol/L]: -0.25 95% CI - 0.44 to - 0.06, p = 0.01). Furthermore, SAP therapy was associated with more adverse effects (risk ratio: 0.20 95% CI 0.07-0.52, p = 0.001) than CL insulin delivery, and one of the most common adverse effects was hypoglycemia.

CONCLUSIONS

CL insulin delivery appears to be a better treatment method than SAP therapy for adults with T1D because of its increased BG control efficacy and decreased number of hypoglycemic events.

[Correlation between the pre-and post-operative sagittal parameters and the quality of life in patients with degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis]

Objective: To assess the relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and spinal sagittal parameters in patients with degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis before and after surgery, and to provide a biomechanical basis for improving the clinical prognosis of such patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 63 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis who received lumbar fusion surgery in the Department of Spine Surgery, Tianjin Union Medical Center from December 2017 to June 2020 was carried out. There were 16 males and 47 females with a mean age of (59±8) years. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on disease type (degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DS) and the isthmic spondylolisthesis (IS)) and HRQOL scores. Patients were evaluated post-operatively to observe the improvement of symptoms and quality of life. The relationship between operative related factors, HRQOL scores before and after surgery, and spino-pelvic sagittal parameters (including sagittal axis of the spine, lumbar lordosis angle, pelvic incidence angle, pelvic tilt angle (PT), sacral tilt angle, matching degree of pelvic incidence angle (PI) and lumbar lordosis angle (LL), lumbar 1 vertebra plumb line, upper lumbar curve, lower lumbar curve) in the two groups were analyzed. The correlation between the improvement of HRQOL scores and spino-pelvic sagittal parameters in the DS group and the IS group was analyzed and compared. Results: There were significant differences between postoperative HRQOL scores compared with those before the operation in both the DS and IS groups at three times of follow-up after the operation (all P<0.05). There was no difference in the last HRQOL score, the number of surgical segments, operation time and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups (all P>0.05). The parameters of PT and PI-LL in DS patients with VAS back pain score>3 and ≤3 were statistically different (13.7°±6.4° vs 26.6°±7.4°, 5.1°±8.2° vs 18.2°±13.1°, respectively, both P<0.05), similar results were obtained in IS patients (14.1°±6.9° vs 16.4°±8.7°, 2.9°±9.7° vs 6.8°±9.8°, respectively, both P<0.05). In addition, the parameters of PT and PI-LL between patients with ODI>20 and ≤20 were all statistically different in the two groups at the last follow-up after surgery (all P<0.05). The improvement of VAS back pain score in DS and IS groups was significantly related to the improvement of PT value, respectively (r=0.76, 0.78, both P<0.05). The PT, LL and PI-LL were significantly correlated with the ODI in the DS group (r=0.60, 0.62, 0.50, all P<0.05). There was also a correlation between the improvement of ODI and PT, LL and PI-LL in the IS group, respectively (r=0.22, 0.41, 0.76, all P<0.05). Conclusions: Certain correlation exists between the HRQOL and spinal sagittal parameters in patients with degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis before and after surgery. For the treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis and improvement of quality of life, the primary goal is to reconstruct the matching degree of the lumbar lordosis angle and PI, and to reduce the PT value to the normal range by tilting the pelvis forward.

Genetic landscape of human mitochondrial genome using whole genome sequencing

Increasing evidences suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in diseases and aging, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is the most unbiased method in analyzing the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). However, the genetic landscape of mtDNA in the Chinese population has not been fully examined. Here, we described the genetic landscape of mtDNA using WGS data from Chinese individuals (n = 3241). We identified 3892 mtDNA variants, of which 3349 (86%) were rare variants. Interestingly, we observed a trend toward extreme heterogeneity of mtDNA variants. Our study observed a distinct purifying selection on mtDNA, which inhibits the accumulation of harmful heteroplasmies at the individual level: (1) mitochondrial dN/dS ratios were much less than 1; (2) the dN/dS ratio of heteroplasmies was higher than homoplasmies; (3) heteroplasmies had more indels and predicted deleterious variants than homoplasmies. Furthermore, we found that haplogroup M (20.27%) and D (20.15%) had the highest frequencies in the Chinese population, followed by B (18.51%) and F (16.45%). The number of variants per individual differed across haplogroup groups, with a higher number of homoplasmies for the M lineage. Meanwhile, mtDNA copy number was negatively correlated with age but positively correlated with the female sex. Finally, we developed an mtDNA variation database of Chinese populations called MTCards (http://genemed.tech/mtcards/) to facilitate the query of mtDNA variants in this study. In summary, these findings contribute to different aspects of understanding mtDNA, providing a better understanding of the genetic basis of mitochondrial-related diseases.

ANGPTL4 accelerates KRASG12D-Induced acinar to ductal metaplasia and pancreatic carcinogenesis

Oncogenic KRASG12D induces neoplastic transformation of pancreatic acinar cells through acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN), and drives pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is known to be involved in the regulation of cancer growth and metastasis. However, whether ANGPTL4 affects KRASG12D-mediated ADM and early PDAC intervention remains unknown. In the current study, we investigated the role of ANGPTL4 in KRASG12D-induced ADM, PanIN formation, and PDAC maintenance. We found that ANGPTL4 was highly expressed in human and mouse ADM lesions and contributed to the promotion of KRASG12D-driven ADM in mice. Consistently, ANGPTL4 rapidly induced ADM in three-dimensional culture of acinar cells with KRAS mutation and formed ductal cysts that silenced acinar genes and activated ductal genes, which are characteristic of in vivo ADM/PanIN lesions. We also found that periostin works as a downstream regulator of ANGPTL4-mediated ADM/PDAC. Genetic ablation of periostin diminished the ADM/PanIN phenotype induced by ANGPTL4. A high correlation between ANGPTL4 and periostin was confirmed in human samples. These results demonstrate that ANGPTL4 is critical for ADM/PanIN initiation and PDAC progression through the regulation of periostin. Thus, the ANGPTL4/periostin axis is considered a potential target for ADM-derived PDAC.

Combination Therapy of the Active KRAS-Targeting Antibody inRas37 and a PI3K Inhibitor in Pancreatic Cancer

KRAS activating mutations, which are present in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, drive tumor dependency on the RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling pathways. Therefore, combined targeting of RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways may be required for optimal therapeutic effect in pancreatic cancer. However, the therapeutic efficacy of combined MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling target inhibitors is unsatisfactory in pancreatic cancer treatment, because it is often accompanied by MAPK pathway reactivation by PI3K/AKT inhibitor. Therefore, we developed an inRas37 antibody, which directly targets the intra-cellularly activated GTP-bound form of oncogenic RAS mutation and investigated its synergistic effect in the presence of the PI3K inhibitor BEZ-235 in pancreatic cancer. In this study, inRas37 remarkably increased the drug response of BEZ-235 to pancreatic cancer cells by inhibiting MAPK reactivation. Moreover, the co-treatment synergistically inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and exhibited synergistic anticancer activity by inhibiting the MAPK and PI3K pathways. The combined administration of inRas37and BEZ-235 significantly inhibited tumor growth in mouse models. Our results demonstrated that inRas37 synergistically increased the antitumor activity of BEZ-235 by inhibiting MAPK reactivation, suggesting that inRas37 and BEZ-235 co-treatment could be a potential treatment approach for pancreatic cancer patients with KRAS mutations.

N95 respirator decontamination: a study in reusability

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had caused a severe depletion of the worldwide supply of N95 respirators. The development of methods to effectively decontaminate N95 respirators while maintaining their integrity is crucial for respirator regeneration and reuse. In this study, we systematically evaluated five respirator decontamination methods using vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) or ultraviolet (254 nm wavelength, UVC) radiation. Through testing the bioburden, filtration, fluid resistance, and fit (shape) of the decontaminated respirators, we found that the decontamination methods using BioQuell VHP, custom VHP container, Steris VHP, and Sterrad VHP effectively inactivated Cardiovirus (3-log10 reduction) and bacteria (6-log10 reduction) without compromising the respirator integrity after 2-15 cycles. Hope UVC system was capable of inactivating Cardiovirus (3-log10 reduction) but exhibited relatively poorer bactericidal activity. These methods are capable of decontaminating 10-1000 respirators per batch with varied decontamination times (10-200 min). Our findings show that N95 respirators treated by the previously mentioned decontamination methods are safe and effective for reuse by industry, laboratories, and hospitals.

Sleep Enhances Consolidation of Memory Traces for Complex Problem-Solving Skills

Sleep consolidates memory for procedural motor skills, reflected by sleep-dependent changes in the hippocampal-striatal-cortical network. Other forms of procedural skills require the acquisition of a novel strategy to solve a problem, which recruit overlapping brain regions and specialized areas including the caudate and prefrontal cortex. Sleep preferentially benefits strategy and problem-solving skills over the accompanying motor execution movements. However, it is unclear how acquiring new strategies benefit from sleep. Here, participants performed a task requiring the execution of a sequence of movements to learn a novel cognitive strategy. Participants performed this task while undergoing fMRI before and after an interval of either a full night sleep, a daytime nap, or wakefulness. Participants also performed a motor control task, which precluded the opportunity to learn the strategy. In this way, we subtracted motor execution-related brain activations from activations specific to the strategy. The sleep and nap groups experienced greater behavioral performance improvements compared to the wake group on the strategy-based task. Following sleep, we observed enhanced activation of the caudate in addition to other regions in the hippocampal-striatal-cortical network, compared to wakefulness. This study demonstrates that sleep is a privileged time to enhance newly acquired cognitive strategies needed to solve problems.

An innovative application of follicular unit extraction technique in the treatment of bromhidrosis

BACKGROUND

Surgery is the most effective way to treat bromhidrosis, but postoperative complications are still the biggest obstacles for patients to choose surgical treatment.

OBJECTIVES

To introduce an innovative application of follicular unit extraction (FUE) in the treatment of bromhidrosis.

METHODS

We conducted a case series study on 20 patients who received FUE technique for the treatment of bromhidrosis. The axillary hair follicles were extracted with a one-millimetre punch. The released hair follicles were collected for histological examination. After the operation, the wounds were wrapped with moderate pressure. The dressing was removed 24 h after the FUE operation. The postoperative complications were collected, and the improvement of malodour was evaluated by the 10-point visual analogue scale.

RESULTS

Immediately postoperation, many needle-shaped holes appeared in the armpits. The holes healed 7 days after the operation, with no scar or pinpoint-like scars. Except for a female who complained of mild pain in the left armpit, no other patients had any discomfort. The malodour level varied between 0 and 4 during the follow-up period. The tissue examination showed that more than 90% of the completely plucked hair follicles were accompanied by apocrine glands, and many blocked and dilated apocrine glands were observed. The lumens of the blocked glands were filled with decapitation products, which were positive for K5, Brst-2 and CEA.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with bromhidrosis have a positive response to FUE technique. The FUE technique is well-tolerated, with only a few postoperative complications, which deserves to be widely promoted.

LINC00240 sponges miR-4465 to promote proliferation, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via HGF/c-MET signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

LINC00240, as a novel long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), has never been studied in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This research reported the expression and function of LINC00240 in HCC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

LINC00240 expression in 180 HCC patients was downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. HCC patients' survival was analyzed via Kaplan‑Meier analysis. The expression of LINC00240, miR-4465 and HGF in Hep3B and Huh7 cells were regulated by transfection. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Transwell experiment was used for the detection of cells migration and invasion abilities. The interaction between LINC00240, miR-4465 and HGF was reflected by Luciferase reporter assay. LINC00240, miR-4465, HGF and p-c-MET expression in HCC cells were researched by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot.

RESULTS

TCGA data showed that high LINC00240 expression was markedly associated with lower survival of HCC patients (p = 0.036). LINC00240 expression was aberrantly upregulated in HCC cells. Silencing of LINC00240 significantly reduced HCC cells viability, migration and invasion. miR-4465 was a target gene of LINC00240. Silencing of LINC00240 reduced HCC cells viability, migration and invasion via directly promoting miR-4465 expression. HGF was target gene of miR-4465. miR-4465 up-regulation obviously suppressed HGF and p-c-MET expression. According to rescue experiment, LINC00240 silencing inhibited HCC cells viability, migration and invasion by suppressing HGF/c-MET signaling pathway via targeting miR-4465.

CONCLUSIONS

LINC00240 sponges miR-4465 to promote HCC cells proliferation, migration and invasion via HGF/c-MET signaling pathway.

Intracellular KRAS-specific antibody enhances the anti-tumor efficacy of gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer by inducing endosomal escape

KRAS mutation is associated with the progression and growth of pancreatic cancer and contributes to chemo-resistance, which poses a significant clinical challenge in pancreatic cancer. Here, we developed a RT22-ep59 antibody (Ab) that directly targets the intracellularly activated GTP-bound form of oncogenic KRAS mutants after it is internalized into cytosol by endocytosis through tumor-associated receptor of extracellular epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and investigated its synergistic anticancer effects in the presence of gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer. We first observed that RT22-ep59 specifically recognized tumor-associated EpCAM and reached the cytosol by endosomal escape. In addition, the anticancer effect of RT22-ep59 was observed in the high-EpCAM-expressing pancreatic cancer cells and gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cells, but it had little effect on the low-EpCAM-expressing pancreatic cancer cells. Additionally, co-treatment with RT22-ep59 and gemcitabine synergistically inhibited cell viability, migration, and invasion in 3D-cultures and exhibited synergistic anticancer activity by inhibiting the RAF/ERK or PI3K/AKT pathways in cells with high-EpCAM expression. In an orthotopic mouse model, combined administration of RT22-ep59 and gemcitabine significantly inhibited tumor growth. Furthermore, the co-treatment suppressed cancer metastasis by blocking EMT signaling in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrated that RT22-ep59 synergistically increased the antitumor activity of gemcitabine by inhibiting RAS signaling by specifically targeting KRAS. This indicates that co-treatment with RT22-ep59 and gemcitabine might be considered a potential therapeutic strategy for pancreatic cancer patients harboring KRAS mutation.

Cross-Disorder Analysis of De Novo Mutations in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

The clinical similarity among different neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) suggested a shared genetic basis. We catalogued 23,109 coding de novo mutations (DNMs) from 6511 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 4,293 undiagnosed developmental disorder (UDD), 933 epileptic encephalopathy (EE), 1022 intellectual disability (ID), 1094 schizophrenia (SCZ), and 3391 controls. We evaluated that putative functional DNMs contribute to 38.11%, 34.40%, 33.31%, 10.98% and 6.91% of patients with ID, EE, UDD, ASD and SCZ, respectively. Consistent with phenotype similarity and heterogeneity in different NPDs, they show different degree of genetic association. Cross-disorder analysis of DNMs prioritized 321 candidate genes (FDR < 0.05) and showed that genes shared in more disorders were more likely to exhibited specific expression pattern, functional pathway, genetic convergence, and genetic intolerance.

Application of ultrasound-based radiomics technology in fetal-lung-texture analysis in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes and/or pre-eclampsia

OBJECTIVES

To analyze and compare, using ultrasound-based radiomics technology, fetal-lung texture in pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and/or pre-eclampsia (PE) and in normal pregnancies, overall and at different gestational ages.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 430 high-throughput features per fetal-lung image were extracted from 548 fetal-lung ultrasound images (obtained at the level of the four-chamber view of the heart) in 548 pregnant women who delivered between July 2018 and August 2019 at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University. Images had been obtained during ultrasound examinations between 28 and 41 weeks of gestation. The data were divided randomly into training set (80% of fetal-lung images) and independent test set (20% of images), and 20% of the images in the training set were then selected as the validation set. A standard machine-learning model based on ultrasound-based radiomics technology was created using features of fetal-lung texture extracted from the images, and a regression model was used to evaluate the relationship between lung-texture features, GDM and/or PE and gestational age.

RESULTS

Of the 548 pregnancies included, 108 were affected by GDM alone, 71 by PE alone and 25 by both GDM and PE, and 344 were normal. The overall performance of the GDM and PE prediction model was superior to that of the gestational-age prediction model, with an area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve of 0.95-0.99, sensitivity of 78.8-97.1% in the validation set and 74.5-91.3% in the independent test set, specificity of 79.8-94.3% in the validation set and 75.7-88.4% in the independent test set and accuracy of 81.0-95.3% in the validation set and 80.6-86.4% in the independent test set.

CONCLUSIONS

Using ultrasound-based radiomics technology, fetal lungs from pregnancies grouped according to whether they were affected by GDM and/or PE could be distinguished from each other and from fetal lungs of normal pregnancies, and lungs from pregnancies at different gestational ages could be distinguished. These findings support further research to explore the use of this non-invasive technology to predict neonatal respiratory complications in women with PE, GDM or their combination. © 2020 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Gene4PD: A Comprehensive Genetic Database of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder with a strong genetic component. A growing number of variants and genes have been reported to be associated with PD; however, there is no database that integrate different type of genetic data, and support analyzing of PD-associated genes (PAGs). By systematic review and curation of multiple lines of public studies, we integrate multiple layers of genetic data (rare variants and copy-number variants identified from patients with PD, associated variants identified from genome-wide association studies, differentially expressed genes, and differential DNA methylation genes) and age at onset in PD. We integrated five layers of genetic data (8302 terms) with different levels of evidences from more than 3,000 studies and prioritized 124 PAGs with strong or suggestive evidences. These PAGs were identified to be significantly interacted with each other and formed an interconnected functional network enriched in several functional pathways involved in PD, suggesting these genes may contribute to the pathogenesis of PD. Furthermore, we identified 10 genes were associated with a juvenile-onset (age ≤ 30 years), 11 genes were associated with an early-onset (age of 30–50 years), whereas another 10 genes were associated with a late-onset (age > 50 years). Notably, the AAOs of patients with loss of function variants in five genes were significantly lower than that of patients with deleterious missense variants, while patients with VPS13C (P = 0.01) was opposite. Finally, we developed an online database named Gene4PD (http://genemed.tech/gene4pd) which integrated published genetic data in PD, the PAGs, and 63 popular genomic data sources, as well as an online pipeline for prioritize risk variants in PD. In conclusion, Gene4PD provides researchers and clinicians comprehensive genetic knowledge and analytic platform for PD, and would also improve the understanding of pathogenesis in PD.

Characterizing the Expression Patterns of Parkinson's Disease Associated Genes

Background

The expression pattern represents a quantitative phenotype that provides an in-depth view of the molecular mechanism in Parkinson’s disease (PD); however, the expression patterns of PD-associated genes (PAGs) and their relation to age at onset (AAO) remain unclear.

Methods

The known PD-causing genes and PD-risk genes, which were collected from latest published authoritative meta-analysis, were integrated as PAGs. The expression data from Genotype-Tissue Expression database, Allen Brian Map database, and BrainSpan database, were extracted to characterize the tissue specificity, inhibitory-excitatory neuron expression profile, and spatio-temporal expression pattern of PAGs, respectively. The AAO information of PD-causing gene was download from Gene4PD and MDSgene database.

Results

We prioritized 107 PAGs and found that the PAGs were more likely to be expressed in brain-related tissues than non-brain tissues and that more PAGs had higher expression levels in excitatory neurons than inhibitory neurons. In addition, we identified two spatio-temporal expression modules of PAGs in human brain: the first module showed a higher expression level in the adult period than in the prenatal period, and the second module showed the opposite features. It showed that more PAGs belong to the first module that the second module. Furthermore, we found that the median AAO of patients with mutations in PD-causing genes of the first module was lower than that of the second module.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study provided comprehensive landscape of expression patterns, AAO features and their relationship for the first time, improving the understanding of pathogenesis, and precision medicine in PD.

GPCards: An integrated database of genotype-phenotype correlations in human genetic diseases

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The patient-level genotype-phenotype correlations in GPCards accelerated the development of medical genetics.

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The integrated 62 genomic sources provide comprehensive information for interpreting pathogenicity.

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Analysis function in GPCards would help users to decipher their data of genotype-phenotype correlations.

Genotype–phenotype correlations are the basis of precision medicine of human genetic diseases. However, it remains a challenge for clinicians and researchers to conveniently access detailed individual-level clinical phenotypic features of patients with various genetic variants. To address this urgent need, we manually searched for genetic studies in PubMed and catalogued 8,309 genetic variants in 1,288 genes from 17,738 patients with detailed clinical phenotypic features from 1,855 publications. Based on genotype–phenotype correlations in this dataset, we developed an user-friendly online database called GPCards (http://genemed.tech/gpcards/), which not only provided the association between genetic diseases and disease genes, but also the prevalence of various clinical phenotypes related to disease genes and the patient-level mapping between these clinical phenotypes and genetic variants. To accelerate the interpretation of genetic variants, we integrated 62 well-known variant-level and gene-level genomic data sources, including functional predictions, allele frequencies in different populations, and disease-related information. Furthermore, GPCards enables automatic analyses of users’ own genetic data, comprehensive annotation, prioritization of candidate functional variants, and identification of genotype–phenotype correlations using custom parameters. In conclusion, GPCards is expected to accelerate the interpretation of genotype–phenotype correlations, subtype classification, and candidate gene prioritisation in human genetic diseases.

De novo mutations in folate-related genes associated with common developmental disorders

Folate deficiency is an environmental risk factor for several developmental disorders. De novo mutations (DNMs) also play important etiological roles in various developmental disorders. However, it remains unclear whether DNMs in folate-related genes (FRGs) contribute to developmental disorders. We obtained a list of 1,821 FRGs from folate metabolism pathways and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, along with data concerning DNMs in 15,404 cases and 3,391 controls from the Gene4Denovo database. We used a TADA-Denovo model to prioritize candidate disease-associated FRGs, and characterized these genes in terms of genic intolerance, functional networks, and expression patterns. Compared with the controls, FRGs were significantly enriched in likely damaging DNMs (ldDNMs) in patients with developmental disorders (1.54 ≤ odds ratio ≤ 3.39, P_adj ≤ 0.0075). Furthermore, FRGs with ldDNMs rather than with likely non-damaging DNMs (lndDNMs) overlapped significantly among the five developmental disorders included in the datasets. The TADA-Denovo model prioritized 96 candidate disease-associated FRGs, which were intolerant to genetic variants. Their functional networks mainly involved pathways associated with chromatin modification, organ development, and signal transduction pathways. DNMT3A, KMT2B, KMT2C, and YY1 emerged as hub FRGs from the protein–protein interaction network. These candidate disease-associated FRGs are preferentially expressed in the excitatory neurones during embryonic development, and in the cortex, cerebellum, striatum, and amygdala during foetal development. Overall, these findings show that DNMs in FRGs are associated with the risk of developmental disorders. Further research on these DNMs may facilitate the discovery of developmental disorder biomarkers and therapeutic targets, enabling detailed, personalized, and precise folate treatment plan.

The role of genetics in Parkinson's disease: a large cohort study in Chinese mainland population

This study aimed to determine the mutational spectrum of familial Parkinson's disease and sporadic early-onset Parkinson's disease (sEOPD) in a mainland Chinese population and the clinical features of mutation carriers. We performed multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assays and whole-exome sequencing for 1676 unrelated patients with Parkinson's disease in a mainland Chinese population, including 192 probands from families with autosomal-recessive Parkinson's disease, 242 probands from families with autosomal-dominant Parkinson's disease, and 1242 sEOPD patients (age at onset ≤ 50). According to standards and guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in 23 known Parkinson's disease-associated genes occurred more frequently in the autosomal-recessive Parkinson's disease cohort (65 of 192, 33.85%) than in the autosomal-dominant Parkinson's disease cohort (10 of 242, 4.13%) and the sEOPD cohort (57 of 1242, 4.59%), which leads to an overall molecular diagnostic yield of 7.88% (132 of 1676). We found that PRKN was the most frequently mutated gene (n = 83, 4.95%) and present the first evidence of an SNCA duplication and LRRK2 p.N1437D variant in mainland China. In addition, several novel pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants including LRRK2 (p.V1447M and p.Y1645S), ATP13A2 (p.R735X and p.A819D), FBXO7 (p.G67E), LRP10 (c.322dupC/p.G109Rfs*51) and TMEM230 (c.429delT/p.P144Qfs*2) were identified in our cohort. Furthermore, the age at onset of the 132 probands with genetic diagnoses (median, 31.5 years) was about 14.5 years earlier than that of patients without molecular diagnoses (i.e. non-carriers, median 46.0 years). Specifically, the age at onset of Parkinson's disease patients with pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in ATP13A2, PLA2G6, PRKN, or PINK1 was significantly lower than that of non-carriers, while the age at onset of carriers with other gene pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants was similar to that of non-carriers. The clinical spectrum of Parkinson's disease-associated gene carriers in this mainland Chinese population was similar to that of other populations. We also detected 61 probands with GBA possibly pathogenic variants (3.64%) and 59 probands with GBA p.L444P (3.52%). These results shed insight into the genetic spectrum and clinical manifestations of Parkinson's disease in mainland China and expand the existing repertoire of pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants involved in known Parkinson's disease-associated genes. Our data highlight the importance of genetic testing in Parkinson's disease patients with age at onset < 40 years, especially in those from families with a recessive inheritance pattern, who may benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.

An Acylase from Shewanella Putrefaciens Presents a Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Acylhomoserine Lactone-Degrading Activity and Exhibits Temperature-, Ph- and Metal-Dependences

Shewanella putrefaciens supernatant was found to increase the virulence factors of Vibrio parahaemolyticus by efficiently degrading its acylhomoserine lactone (AHL). To further reveal the regulation mechanism and its key degrading enzyme, a potential AHL-degrading enzyme acylase (Aac) from S. putrefaciens was cloned, and the influences of temperature, pH, protein modifiers, and metals on Aac were tested. Aac was significantly influenced by temperature and pH, and exhibited the highest AHL-degrading activity at temperatures of 37 °C and pH of 8. Mg2+ and Fe2+ can further increase the AHL-degrading activity. 10 mM EDTA inhibited its activity possibly by chelating the co-factors (metals) required for Aac activity. Tryptophan and arginine were identified as key components for Aac activity that are critical to its AHL-degrading activity. This study provides useful information on Aac and for V. parahaemolyticus control.

Selonsertib Inhibits Liver Fibrosis via Downregulation of ASK1/ MAPK Pathway of Hepatic Stellate Cells

Liver fibrosis constitutes a significant health problem worldwide due to its rapidly increasing prevalence and the absence of specific and effective treatments. Growing evidence suggests that apoptosis-signal regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is activated in oxidative stress, which causes hepatic inflammation and apoptosis, leading to liver fibrogenesis through a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) downstream signals. In this study, we investigated whether selonsertib, a selective inhibitor of ASK1, shows therapeutic efficacy for liver fibrosis, and elucidated its mechanism of action in vivo and in vitro. As a result, selonsertib strongly suppressed the growth and proliferation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and induced apoptosis by increasing Annexin V and TUNEL-positive cells. We also observed that selonsertib inhibited the ASK1/MAPK pathway, including p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in HSCs. Interestingly, dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrosis was significantly alleviated by selonsertib treatment in rats. Furthermore, selonsertib reduced collagen deposition and the expression of extracellular components such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin, and collagen type I in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, selonsertib suppressed fibrotic response such as HSC proliferation and extracellular matrix components by blocking the ASK1/MAPK pathway. Therefore, we suggest that selonsertib may be an effective therapeutic drug for ameliorating liver fibrosis.

De novo mutation of cancer-related genes associates with particular neurodevelopmental disorders

Epidemiological studies have shown an increased prevalence of cancer in some patients with neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD); however, the genetic mechanisms regarding how cancer-related genes (CRGs) contribute to NDD remain unclear. We performed bioinformatic analyses on 219 CRGs from OMIM and de novo mutations (DNMs) from 16,498 patients with different NDDs and 3391 controls. Our results showed that autism spectrum disorder, undiagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder, congenital heart disease and intellectual disability, but not epileptic encephalopathy and schizophrenia, harboured significantly more putative functional DNMs in CRGs, compared with controls, providing genetic evidence supporting previous epidemiological surveys. We further detected 26 CRGs with recurrent putative functional DNMs that showed high expression in the human brain during the prenatal stage and in non-brain organs in adults. The proteins coded by the 26 CRGs and known NDD candidate genes formed a functional network that is involved in brain development and tumorigenesis. Overall, we proposed 39 cancer-targeting drugs that could be investigated for treating patients with NDD, which would be potentially cost-effective. In conclusion, DNMs contribute to specific NDDs and there may be a shared genetic basis between NDDs and cancer, highlighting the importance of considering cancer-targeting drugs with potential curative effects in patients with NDDs. KEY MESSAGES: • The contribution of DNMs in NDD is consistent with epidemiological surveys. • We highlighted 26 CRGs, including nine genes with more than five functional DNMs. • Specific expression patterns underlie the genetic mechanism of CRGs in NDD. • Specific functional networks underlie the genetic mechanism of CRGs in NDD. • The shared genetic aetiology suggests potential mutual treatment strategies.

Functional relationships between recessive inherited genes and genes with de novo variants in autism spectrum disorder

Background

Both de novo variants and recessive inherited variants were associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to use exome data to prioritize recessive inherited genes (RIGs) with biallelically inherited variants in autosomes or X-linked inherited variants in males and investigate the functional relationships between RIGs and genes with de novo variants (DNGs).

Methods

We used a bioinformatics pipeline to analyze whole-exome sequencing data from 1799 ASD quads (containing one proband, one unaffected sibling, and their parents) from the Simons Simplex Collection and prioritize candidate RIGs with rare biallelically inherited variants in autosomes or X-linked inherited variants in males. The relationships between RIGs and DNGs were characterized based on different genetic perspectives, including genetic variants, functional networks, and brain expression patterns.

Results

Among the biallelically or hemizygous constrained genes that were expressed in the brain, ASD probands carried significantly more biallelically inherited protein-truncating variants (PTVs) in autosomes (p = 0.038) and X-linked inherited PTVs in males (p = 0.026) than those in unaffected siblings. We prioritized eight autosomal, and 13 X-linked candidate RIGs, including 11 genes already associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. In total, we detected biallelically inherited variants or X-linked inherited variants of these 21 candidate RIGs in 26 (1.4%) of 1799 probands. We then integrated previously reported known or candidate genes in ASD, ultimately obtaining 70 RIGs and 87 DNGs for analysis. We found that RIGs were less likely to carry multiple recessive inherited variants than DNGs were to carry multiple de novo variants. Additionally, RIGs and DNGs were significantly co-expressed and interacted with each other, forming a network enriched in known functional ASD clusters, although RIGs were less likely to be enriched in these functional clusters compared with DNGs. Furthermore, although RIGs and DNGs presented comparable expression patterns in the human brain, RIGs were less likely to be associated with prenatal brain regions, the middle cortical layers, and excitatory neurons than DNGs.

Limitations

The RIGs analyzed in this study require functional validation, and the results should be replicated in more patients with ASD.

Conclusions

ASD RIGs were functionally associated with DNGs; however, they exhibited higher heterogeneity than DNGs.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction alters brain activity for breast cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain: preliminary evidence from resting-state fMRI

PURPOSE

Breast cancer continues to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Canadian women, with as many as 25-60% of women suffering from chronic neuropathic pain (CNP) as a pervasive consequence of treatment. While pharmacological interventions have shown limited efficacy for the management of CNP to date, psychological interventions, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), may be a promising alterative for improving pain-related problems. The purpose of this study was to use brain imaging methods to investigate this potential.

METHODS

Resting-state fMRI was used in female breast cancer survivors with CNP before and after an 8-week MBSR course (n = 13) and compared with a waitlist control group (n = 10).

RESULTS

Focusing on the default mode network, the most significant results show greater posterior cingulate connectivity with medial prefrontal regions post-MBSR intervention. Moreover, this change in connectivity correlated with reduced pain severity for the MBSR group.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide empirical evidence of a change in the brain following MBSR intervention associated with changes in the subjective experience of pain.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

This study gives hope for a non-invasive method of easing the struggle of CNP in women following breast cancer treatment.

No relationship between SRY variants and risk of Parkinson's disease in Chinese population

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease with inherent sex differences, and sex-determining region Y (SRY) is a gene located in the Y chromosome which encodes a transcription factor involving the regulation of the dopamine system. In this study, we investigated whether SRY variants were associated with PD in Chinese population. A total of 2058 male patients with PD and 1650 male control participants were recruited, and variants in SRY transcript and flanking regions were genotyped by whole-exome sequencing or whole-genome sequencing. Analysis of rare variants by the optimal sequence kernel association test showed no difference in variant burden of coding, 5'-noncoding and 3'-noncoding between the case and control group. In addition, of the 6 common variants identified, none showed a significant effect in altering PD risk in our population using logistic regression. Our results suggested SRY variants were not associated with the risk of PD in Chinese population.

ANGPTL4 exacerbates pancreatitis by augmenting acinar cell injury through upregulation of C5a

Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas. However, little is known about the genes associated with pancreatitis severity. Our microarray analysis of pancreatic tissues from mild and severe acute pancreatitis mice models identified angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) as one of the most significantly upregulated genes. Clinically, ANGPTL4 expression was also increased in the serum and pancreatic tissues of pancreatitis patients. The deficiency in ANGPTL4 in mice, either by gene deletion or neutralizing antibody, mitigated pancreatitis-associated pathological outcomes. Conversely, exogenous ANGPTL4 exacerbated pancreatic injury with elevated cytokine levels and apoptotic cell death. High ANGPTL4 enhanced macrophage activation and infiltration into the pancreas, which increased complement component 5a (C5a) level through PI3K/AKT signaling. The activation of the C5a receptor led to hypercytokinemia that accelerated acinar cell damage and furthered pancreatitis. Indeed, C5a neutralizing antibody decreased inflammatory response in LPS-activated macrophages and alleviated pancreatitis severity. In agreement, there was a significant positive correlation between C5a and ANGPTL4 levels in pancreatitis patients. Taken together, our study suggests that targeting ANGPTL4 is a potential strategy for the treatment of pancreatitis.

MEK blockade overcomes the limited activity of palbociclib in head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is characterized with multiple aberrations in cell cycle pathways, including amplification of cyclin D1. Palbociclib (PAL), a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor, has been reported to regulate cell cycle progression in HNC. However, recent studies have revealed the acquired resistance of certain cells to PAL through activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Therefore, we investigated whether the inhibition of MEK/ERK pathway by trametinib (TRA) may overcome the limited efficacy of PAL in HNC. We evaluated the effect of PAL alone and in combination with TRA on the viability of HNC cells, and found that the combination treatment synergistically inhibited the proliferation of HNC cells. The combination treatment induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death. In particular, apoptosis mediated by the combination treatment was accompanied with an increase in caspase-3 activity and the number of TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells. These results were consistent with the decrease in cell cycle progression and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation. In a xenograft mouse model of HNC, PAL and TRA synergistically inhibited tumor growth and enhanced tumor cell apoptosis, consistent with the increase in the number of TUNEL-positive cells. The anti-proliferative effects were evident in tumor tissues subjected to the combination treatment as compared with those treated with single drug. Taken together, our study demonstrates that the combination of PAL and TRA exerts synergistic anticancer effects and inhibits cell cycle check points and MEK/ERK pathway in HNC, suggestive of their potential application for HNC treatment.

Gene4Denovo: an integrated database and analytic platform for de novo mutations in humans

De novo mutations (DNMs) significantly contribute to sporadic diseases, particularly in neuropsychiatric disorders. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provide effective methods for detecting DNMs and prioritizing candidate genes. However, it remains a challenge for scientists, clinicians, and biologists to conveniently access and analyse data regarding DNMs and candidate genes from scattered publications. To fill the unmet need, we integrated 580 799 DNMs, including 30 060 coding DNMs detected by WES/WGS from 23 951 individuals across 24 phenotypes and prioritized a list of candidate genes with different degrees of statistical evidence, including 346 genes with false discovery rates <0.05. We then developed a database called Gene4Denovo (http://www.genemed.tech/gene4denovo/), which allowed these genetic data to be conveniently catalogued, searched, browsed, and analysed. In addition, Gene4Denovo integrated data from >60 genomic sources to provide comprehensive variant-level and gene-level annotation and information regarding the DNMs and candidate genes. Furthermore, Gene4Denovo provides end-users with limited bioinformatics skills to analyse their own genetic data, perform comprehensive annotation, and prioritize candidate genes using custom parameters. In conclusion, Gene4Denovo conveniently allows for the accelerated interpretation of DNM pathogenicity and the clinical implication of DNMs in humans.

PBT-6, a Novel PI3KC2γ Inhibitor in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is considered as a promising therapeutic target for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) because of its involvement in inflammatory processes. However, limited studies have reported the involvement of PI3KC2γ in RA, and the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Therefore, we investigated the role of PI3KC2γ as a novel therapeutic target for RA and the effect of its selective inhibitor, PBT-6. In this study, we observed that PI3KC2γ was markedly increased in the synovial fluid and tissue as well as the PBMCs of patients with RA. PBT-6, a novel PI3KC2γ inhibitor, decreased the cell growth of TNF-mediated synovial fibroblasts and LPS-mediated macrophages. Furthermore, PBT-6 inhibited the PI3KC2γ expression and PI3K/ AKT signaling pathway in both synovial fibroblasts and macrophages. In addition, PBT-6 suppressed macrophage migration via CCL2 and osteoclastogenesis. In CIA mice, it significantly inhibited the progression and development of RA by decreasing arthritis scores and paw swelling. Three-dimensional micro-computed tomography confirmed that PBT-6 enhanced the joint structures in CIA mice. Taken together, our findings suggest that PI3KC2γ is a therapeutic target for RA, and PBT-6 could be developed as a novel PI3KC2γ inhibitor to target inflammatory diseases including RA.

Phononic Helical Nodal Lines with PT Protection in MoB_{2}

While condensed matter systems host both fermionic and bosonic quasiparticles, reliably predicting and empirically verifying topological states is only mature for Fermionic electronic structures, leaving topological Bosonic excitations sporadically explored. This is unfortunate, as Bosonic systems such as phonons offer the opportunity to assess spinless band structures where nodal lines can be realized without invoking special additional symetries to protect against spin-orbit coupling. Here we combine first-principles calculations and meV-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering to demonstrate the first realization of parity-time reversal symmetry protected helical nodal lines in the phonon spectrum of MoB_{2}. This structure is unique to phononic systems as the spin-orbit coupling present in electronic systems tends to lift the degeneracy away from high-symmetry locations. Our study establishes a protocol to accurately identify topological Bosonic excitations, opening a new route to explore exotic topological states in crystalline materials.