Next-generation sequencing through multigene panel testing for the diagnosis of hereditary epidermolysis bullosa in Chinese population

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a heritable blistering disorder. We performed a next-generation sequencing-based multigene panel test and successfully predicted 100% of the EB types, including, 36 EB simplex (EBS), 13 junctional EB (JEB), 86 dystrophic EB (DEB), and 3 Kindler EB. Chinese JEB and recessive DEB (RDEB) patients have relatively mild phenotypes; for severe type separately accounts for 45.5% and 23.8%, respectively. We identified 96 novel and 49 recurrent pathogenic variants in 11 genes, although we failed to detect the second mutation in one JEB and five RDEB patients. We identified one novel p.E475K mosaic mutation in the clinically normal mother of one out of 13 EBS patients with KRT5 mutations, one recurrent p.G2034R mosaic mutation, and one novel p.G2043R mosaic mutation in the clinically normal relatives of two out of 19 dominant DEB patients. This study shows that next-generation technology could be an effective tool in diagnosing EB.     

基于超效率DEA的天津市基本公共卫生配置资源效率研究

评价天津市各辖区基本公共卫生服务的资源配置效率,寻求有效的资源配置措施和方法,为进一步优化卫生资源配置提供参考依据。方法利用数据包络分析,对天津市16辖区的基本公共卫生服务进行效率评价。结果天津市基本公共卫生服务的资源配置效率整体不高,仅有5辖区达到了规模最优,多数区非DEA有效,且投入过剩与产出不足并存。结论为了达到最优的基本公共卫生服务效率,政府及各级基本公共卫生服务机构必须有效地完善、落实相关政策,优化资源投入结构,统筹地区差异,加强资源供给管理,提高资源利用效率。     

Basic fibroblast growth factor promotes doxorubicin resistance in chondrosarcoma cells by affecting XRCC5 expression

Chondrosarcoma is the second most common form of bone cancer and is characterized by its ability to produce an extracellular matrix of the cartilage. High-grade chondrosarcoma is highly aggressive and can metastasize to other parts of the body. Chondrosarcoma is resistant to both conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy; hence, the current main treatment is still surgical resection. Doxorubicin (Dox) has been shown to significantly improve patient survival compared with untreated chondrosarcoma. However, for patients with metastasis, surgical resection alone can hardly treat them. In addition, drug resistance is one of the leading causes of death in patients with chondrosarcoma. Secreted proteins can mediate cell-cell interactions in the cancer microenvironment, which may be associated with the development of drug resistance. In the present study, chondrosarcoma cells were treated with Dox, the conditioned medium was then collected and changes in secreted proteins were analyzed using the antibody array. Results showed that the Dox-treated group had the highest secretion of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), indicating the effect of bFGF on Dox sensitivity in chondrosarcoma. Furthermore, lentiviral-mediated knockdown and treatment of exogenous recombinant protein were employed to further investigate the effect of bFGF on Dox resistance. Results demonstrated that bFGF can promote the expression of X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 5 (XRCC5), leading to Dox resistance. Secreted bFGF is likely to be detected in serum, in addition to being a biomarker for predicting Dox resistance, the combination of Dox and bFGF/XRCC5 blockers may be a new therapeutic strategy to improve the efficacy of Dox in future.     

维纳托克在肝癌细胞中的抗肿瘤活性及其机制

目的探讨维纳托克(Venetoclax)在HepG2、Hep3B 2个肝癌细胞株的抗癌活性。方法对人肝癌细胞株HepG2、Hep3B细胞株进行体外培养,采用不同浓度的Venetoclax(0、3、10、30μmol/L)处理肝癌细胞,以细胞计数试剂盒(CCK-8)检测细胞活性,0,3,10和30μmol/L Venetoclax作用细胞48 h,锥虫蓝拒染法检测细胞的死亡,0,5μmol/L Venetoclax,作用24 h,流式细胞学检测细胞凋亡率,蛋白质印迹法(Western blot)检测Venetoclax诱导半胱氨酰天冬氨酸特异性蛋白酶(Caspase)-3活化,聚腺苷二磷酸核糖聚合酶(PARP)裂解。组间比较采用t检验。结果Venetoclax对HepG2、Hep3B细胞株均有较强活性抑制作用。不同浓度的Venetoclax处理肝癌细胞48、72 h,Venetoclax在HepG2细胞株中取得的半数细胞活性抑制率(IC50)值分别为46.5μmol/L和14.2μmol/L;在Hep3B细胞的IC50值分别为24.6μmol/L和11.2μmol/L。处理24 h,30.0μmol/L的Venetoclax在HepG2和Hep3B细胞株中诱导57%[对照组、实验组凋亡率分别为(4.00±1.00)%、(56.67±8.51)%,t=-10.650,P<0.01]和54%[对照组、实验组凋亡率分别为(5.67±1.53)%、(54.33±9.87)%,t=-8.440,P<0.01]的肝癌细胞发生凋亡,并能诱导肝癌细胞的Caspase-3活化,PARP裂解,差异均有统计学意义。用0、3、10和30μmol/L的Venetoclax处理48 h,在HepG2细胞株中可诱导3%(3.26±1.71)%,12%[(12.36±1.99)%,(t=-12.36,P<0.05)],32%[(32.38±4.57)%,(t=-10.350,P<0.01)]和67%[(66.71±6.29)%,(t=-16.86,P<0.01)]的细胞死亡,差异均有统计学意义;在Hep3B细胞株诱导2%(1.91±0.68)%,16%[(15.72±3.40)%,(t=-6.890,P<0.05)],42%[(42.39±6.86)%,(t=-10.180,P<0.01)]和73%[(73.32±2.69)%,t=-44.490,P<0.01]的细胞死亡,差异均有统计学意义。应用半胱氨酸蛋白酶(Caspase)抑制剂预处理,Venetoclax对HepG2和Hep3B细胞的死亡率分别从56%(56.71±6.29)%降低至11%(10.70±1.43)%,(t=12.350,P<0.01)和68%(68.05±10.16)%至12%(12.7±6.12)%,(t=8.080,P<0.01),差异有统计学意义。结论Venetoclax能够通过诱导Caspase的活化,诱导肝癌细胞发生凋亡,并对肝癌细胞进行杀伤。     

Morphine reverses the effects of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium in PC12 cells through activating PI3K/Akt

Aim of the study: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder. It is caused by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and the dopamine (DA) deletion in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Morphine elevates the level of dopamine in the mesolimbic dopamine system and plays a role in alleviating PD symptoms. However, the molecular mechanism is still unclear. The aim of the study is to investigate the mechanism on morphine alleviating PD symptoms.

Materials and methods: The viability of PC12 cells was measured by using MTT assay. The expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1), CyclinD1 and Cyclin-dependent kinase5 (Cdk5) were detected by Western Blot.

Results: In present study, we found that morphine increased the cell viability in PC12 cells. 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridi-nium (MPP+) reduced the cell viability and TH expression, which were reversed by morphine. MPP+ decreased the expressions of Trx-1, CyclinD1, Cdk5, which were restored by morphine. Moreover, the role of morphine in restoring the expressions of Trx-1, CyclinD1 and Cdk5 decreased by MPP+ was abolished by LY294002, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt inhibitor.

Conclusions: These results suggest that morphine reverses effects induced by MPP þ through activating PI3K/Akt pathway.