Is interleukin-2 an optimal marker for diagnosing tuberculosis infection? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background

Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is a huge reservoir for the deadlier TB disease. Accurate identification of LTBI is a key strategy to eliminate TB. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis approach was used to assess diagnostic potential of IL-2 for LTBI.     

A comparison of the relationships between psychosocial factors,occupational strain,and work ability among 4 ethnic teacher groups in China

The present study compared the level of occupational strain and work ability among Han, Hui, Uygur, Hui, and Kazakh teachers, and explored ethnic differences based on the associations of psychosocial factors at work, occupational strain, and work ability. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,941 teachers in primary and secondary schools in Xinjiang Province, China. Psychosocial factors, occupational strain, and work ability were measured using the Occupation Stress Inventory—Revised Edition (OSI-R) and Work Ability Index. Han and Hui teachers experienced reduced work ability compared with Uygur and Kazakh teachers, and this finding was caused, in part, by exposure to psychosocial factors at work. The vocational and psychological strains caused by these factors play an important role in reduced work ability among all ethnic teacher groups. The findings indicate the importance of taking action to reduce occupational strain for promoting teachers' work ability in multiethnic workplaces.     

Different expression levels of exosomal miR-503 in peritoneal dialysis effluent from patients of different peritoneal transport characteristics and bioinformatics analysis

Objective To compare the expression level of exosomal miR-503 in peritoneal dialysis effluent (PDE) from patients of different peritoneal transport characteristics, predict the target genes of miR-503 and provide bioinformatic data for researches of peritoneal transport characteristics. Methods Twenty-four stable peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients were selected and divided into high transport group (H group, n=12) and low transport group (L group, n=12) according to the results of peritoneal equilibration tests (PET). The 500 ml PDE that was left on the patient's abdomen overnight was collected and concentrated using ultrafiltration cell. Exosomes in PDE were resuspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) after ultracentrifugation and the characteristics of PDE exosomes were identified by transmission electron microscope (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), Western blotting and fluorescent staining. MicroRNAs were extracted from PDE exosomes. The expression levels of PDE exosomal miR-503 in the two groups were detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Then the relations between the relative quantity of PDE exosomal miR-503 and PET values or 24 h ultrafiltration volume (UF) were analyzed. Targetscan and miRDB databases were used to predict the target genes of miR-503. Gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analysis were relied on DAVID (https://david.ncifcrf.gov/). Results The exosomes in PDE showed a round and cup-shaped morphology under TEM, and the diameters were approximately 100 nm measured by NTA. The specific biomarkers of exosomes, CD63, CD81 and heat shock protein -70 (HSP-70) were all detected by Western blotting. The internalization and uptake of the exosomes was observed after fluorescent staining. The relative expression level of PDE exosomal miR-503 in H group was found to be significantly higher than that in L group (P=0.002), and the relative quantity of PDE exosomal miR-503 was significantly positively correlated with PET values (r=0.547, P=0.006), but not 24 h UF (r=-0.297, P=0.159). There were 156 target genes of miR-503 in total that could be predicted by two different databases at the same time. GO analysis of these 156 target genes was mainly focused on kinase binding, regulation of protein modification and catabolic process as well as regulation of epithelial cell proliferation. KEGG enriched many tumor associated or classical signaling pathways, including transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathway and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway. The prediction showed that vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) was a direct target gene of miR-503 and it was also related to many proteins involved in fibrosis mechanism. Conclusions The expression level of PDE exosomal miR-503 is significantly higher in H group, and positively correlates with PET values, which may regulate the angiogenesis of peritoneal vessels by targeting VEGFA.     

促进乳腺癌增殖转移和肿瘤干细胞特征的研究

目的 研究Gankyrin在乳腺肿瘤中的表达及其促进肿瘤进展的分子机制。方法 利用数据库研究Gankyrin在乳腺癌中的表达情况,并分析其表达与患者生存的关系。在BT549和MDA-MB-231乳腺癌细胞系过表达和敲减Gankyrin基因后,利用CCK-8、Transwell和流式细胞实验分析细胞增殖、转移和肿瘤干细胞的比例。结果 通过数据库分析显示Gankyrin在乳腺癌组织表达较高(P＜0.01),其高表达与患者的不良预后有关(P＜0.01)。与正常乳腺组织相比,乳腺癌组织中Gankyrin启动子甲基化水平较低(P＜0.01)。通过在乳腺癌细胞中过表达和敲减Gankyrin基因后,表明Gankyrin具有促进乳腺肿瘤细胞增殖和转移的能力,可以维持乳腺癌细胞的肿瘤干细胞特征(P＜0.01)。结论 Gankyrin在乳腺癌高表达与患者的不良预后相关,其可能作为乳腺癌肿瘤标记物。     

NRAGE影响人食管癌细胞放射抗性的作用及其机制研究

背景与目的：食管癌是全球威胁人类生命和健康的常见恶性肿瘤之一，中国每年食管癌发病人数占全球发病总人数的一半以上，以食管鳞癌最为常见。放疗是食管癌三大治疗手段之一，而放射抗性是导致其治疗失败的主要原因。神经营养因子受体相互作用MAGE类药物（neurotrophin receptor-interacting MAGE homolog，NRAGE）在放射抗性细胞株TE13R120中表达量明显高于亲本TE13细胞，且NRAGE亚细胞定位变化可能参与食管癌细胞放射抗性的形成。通过基因转染构建NRAGE稳定表达的食管癌细胞系，以进一步明确NRAGE基因与食管鳞癌细胞放射抗性的关系，分析该基因影响放射抗性的具体机制。方法：通过基因转染构建NRAGE稳定表达的食管癌细胞系。采用细胞克隆形成实验检测细胞放射敏感性，采用流式细胞术检测细胞周期及凋亡；细胞划痕、Transwell侵袭实验检测细胞迁移、侵袭能力，采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应（real-time fluorescence quantitive polymerase chain reaction，RTFQ-PCR）和蛋白质印迹法（Western blot）检测细胞中β-catenin表达情况。组间差异采用t检验或方差分析。结果：实验分为转染过表达组（Eca109/NRAGE组）和空白对照组（Eca109组）。Eca109/NRAGE细胞中NRAGE的表达量明显高于Eca109（t=29.65，P<0.05）。照射后Eca109/NRAGE细胞的放射抗性显著高于Eca109。流式细胞术检测结果显示，Eca109/NRAGE细胞中对射线抵抗性最强的S期细胞比例增加，对射线最敏感的G ₂ /M期减少。Eca109/NRAGE细胞凋亡率较Eca109细胞降低（t=3.268，P<0.05）。Eca109/NRAGE细胞迁移和侵袭能力均高于Eca109。RTFQ-PCR和Western blot检测结果显示，β-catenin的mRNA表达及蛋白水平在Eca109/NRAGE细胞中明显高于Eca109（t=15.87，P<0.05）。结论：NRAGE参与Eca109细胞放射抗性的形成，改变细胞的细胞周期分布和凋亡情况，影响细胞迁移及侵袭能力并可能影响食管癌细胞的放射敏感性，该作用可能与激活Wnt/β-catenin信号转导通路有关。     

Ionic (Co)Organocatalyst with (Thio)Urea Anion and Tetra‑n‑butyl Ammonium Cation for the Polymerization of γ‐Butyrolactone

An effective ionic organocatalyst system is developed for the challenging ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of γ‐butyrolactone (GBL) at low temperature. The catalysts are prepared by dehydration reaction between tetra‐n‐butyl ammonium hydroxide (TBAOH) and (thio)ureas at ambient temperature, and utilized with or without extra benzyl alcohol (BnOH) initiator. The solid‐state structure of TUA‐3 comprising thiourea anion is characterized by X‐ray diffraction analysis. Typically, a mixture of cyclic and linear poly(GBL) with low molecular weights (5000–1600 g mol^?1) and slightly narrow molecular distribution Ð (1.2–1.4) is obtained by single base with/without combination with (thio)ureas. Interestingly, solely linear high‐molecular‐weight poly(GBL) (10 400 g mol^?1) can be achieved by a synergistic effect of TBAOH/N,N′‐isopropylthiourea in the presence of BnOH. The obtained poly(GBL) is characterized with NMR spectroscopy and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI‐TOF MS). Mechanistic studies reveal different polymerization initiation steps in this reported catalyst system, which leads to poly(GBL) with divergent end groups.