A biography of Academician Zhicen Lou

A biography of Academician Zhicen Lou.     

Visumax飞秒激光辅助制瓣LASIK术中不透明气泡层及相关因素

目的：研究Visumax飞秒激光辅助的准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术（LASIK）术中不透明气泡层（OBL）产生的类型、相关影响因素及其临床意义。方法：回顾性分析。收集2016 年7 月1 日至8 月20 日在南京医科大学附属眼科医院行飞秒LASIK的患者154 例（300 眼）的临床资料，等效球镜度为（-5.88±1.51）D。飞秒激光采用Zeiss公司 Visumax飞秒激光仪，将术中产生的OBL分为瓣外OBL、瓣内快速OBL和瓣内慢速OBL。300 眼按角膜曲率平均K值分为A组（<42 D）、B组（42～46 D）和C组（>46 D）；按角膜瓣的厚度分为D组（100 μm）、E组（110 μm）和F组（120 μm）；按角膜厚度分为G组（<500 μm）、H组（500～540 μm）和I组（>540 μm）。统计不同角膜曲率、角膜瓣厚度、角膜厚度情况下3 种OBL产生的比例，并采用多元Logistic回归模型进行统计分析。结果：300 眼均发生OBL。以瓣外OBL作为参照，角膜瓣越薄，越容易出现瓣内快速OBL（r=-0.719，P=0.034）和瓣内慢速OBL（r=-0.875，P=0.044）。以瓣内慢速OBL作为参照，角膜曲率越高，越容易出现瓣内快速OBL（r=0.923，P=0.046）；角膜瓣越厚，越容易出现瓣外OBL（r=0.897，P=0.044）。结论：OBL的产生与角膜曲率、角膜瓣厚度、角膜厚度均存在一定的相关性，但瓣外OBL、瓣内快速OBL和瓣内慢速OBL对Visumax飞秒激光辅助的LASIK术后视觉质量的影响及远期疗效仍有待进一步观察研究。     

Helicobacter pylori induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric carcinogenesis via the AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a main risk factor for gastric cancer (GC). Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in the development and progression of H. pylori-associated GC. However, the exact molecular mechanism of this process remains unclear. The AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway has been demonstrated to promote EMT in several types of cancer. The present study investigated whether H. pylori infection induced EMT, and promoted the development and metastasis of cancer in the normal gastric mucosa, and whether this process was dependent on AKT activation. The expression levels of the EMT-associated proteins, including E-cadherin and N-cadherin, were determined in 165 gastric mucosal samples of different disease stages by immunohistochemical analysis. The expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, AKT, phosphorylated (p-)AKT (Ser473), GSK3β and p-GSK3β (Ser9) were further determined in H. pylori-infected Mongolian gerbil gastric tissues and cells co-cultured with H. pylori by immunohistochemical analysis and western blotting. The results indicated that the expression levels of the epithelial marker E-cadherin were decreased, whereas the expression levels of the mesenchymal marker N-cadherin were increased during gastric carcinogenesis. Their expression levels were associated with H. pylori infection. Furthermore, H. pylori infection resulted in downregulation of E-cadherin expression and upregulation of N-cadherin expression in Mongolian gerbils and GES-1 cells. In addition, an investigation of the associated mechanism of action revealed that p-AKT (Ser473) and p-GSK3β (Ser9) were activated in GES-1 cells following co-culture with H. pylori. Furthermore, following pretreatment of the cells with the AKT inhibitor VIII, the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, p-AKT and p-GSK3β did not show significant differences between GES-1 cells that were co-cultured with or without H. pylori. The levels of p-AKT and p-GSK3β were increased in H. pylori-infected Mongolian gerbils. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that H. pylori infection activated AKT and resulted in the phosphorylation and inactivation of GSK3β, which in turn promoted early stage EMT. These effects were AKT-dependent. This mechanism may serve as a prerequisite for GC development.     

针刺辅助治疗难治性肠易激综合征临床试验方案关键点设计的思考＊

肠易激综合征（Irritable bowel syndrome，IBS）是临床常见病、多发病，其治疗方法丰富，但部分患者疗效欠佳，发展成难治性IBS。目前国内外关于针灸治疗难治性IBS的临床随机对照试验尚不多见。本文立足试验方案设计的“PICOS”原则，从研究对象及诊断标准、干预措施、对照措施、结局指标四个方面入手，重点探讨针刺辅助治疗难治性肠易激综合征临床试验设计的关键要点。从选择特色优势病种、明确诊断标准、制定符合临床实际的干预方案、运用符合目标的安慰针刺、结合研究设计和目的选定结局指标几个角度，阐述试验相关环节设计的原因和思考。     

Toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) to THP-1 macrophages: interactions with saturated or unsaturated free fatty acids

In a biological microenvironment, free fatty acids (FFA) as ubiquitous biological molecules might interact with nanoparticles (NPs) and consequently change the toxicological responses. However, whether the chemical structures of FFA could influence their interactions with NPs remain unknown. This study investigated the interactions between ZnO NPs and saturated or unsaturated FFA (complexed to BSA), namely stearic acid (SA, C18:0), oleic acid (OA, C18:1), and α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3). It was shown that BSA, SA, OA, and ALA increased the atomic force microscope (AFM) heights as well the polydispersity index (PDI) of ZnO NPs. BSA modestly protected THP-1 macrophages from ZnO NP exposure, whereas OA and ALA led to relatively less cyto-protective effects of BSA. Moreover, only co-exposure to ZnO NPs and SA significantly promoted the release of interleukin-8. BSA, SA, OA, and ALA equally changed intracellular ROS and Zn ions associated with ZnO exposure, but co-exposure to ZnO NPs and OA/ALA particularly activated the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-apoptosis genes. In combination, these results showed that FFA could influence the colloidal aspects and toxicological signaling pathway of ZnO NPs, which is dependent on the number of unsaturated bonds of FFA.