Epidemiologic background of blood donors with antibody to human T-cell lymphotropic virus. Transfusion Safety Study Group

We interviewed 51 blood donors in four major US metropolitan areas subsequently found to have had antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus (anti-HTLV) in late 1984-early 1985. Sixteen donors (31%) reported that they or a sexual contact had a history of blood transfusion. Twelve donors (24%) reported that they or a sexual contact used intravenous drugs. Ten donors (20%) were blacks born in the southeastern US. Four of the male donors (15%) reported homosexual contact. The most common characteristic was an association with Japan or the Caribbean basin (61%). These results show a broader variation of epidemiologic backgrounds than anticipated.     

miR-95与胃癌细胞洛铂 敏感性的关系及 作用机制研究

目的：探讨miR-95与胃癌细胞洛铂敏感性的关系及作用机制。方法：收集30例手术切除的胃癌组织及癌旁组织标本,实时定量PCR（qPCR）法检测组织中miR-95的表达情况,CCK-8法检测洛铂对胃癌组织细胞的体外抑制率。采用miR-95抑制物（anti-miR-95）和miR-95模拟物（miR-95 mimics）分别转染人胃癌细胞株SGC7901,检测转染前后细胞对洛铂敏感性的变化;采用qPCR及Western blot法检测细胞耐药相关基因MDR1、GST-π、LRP、Survivin、xIAP、Bad mRNA和蛋白的表达。结果：qPCR检测结果显示,30例胃癌组织miR-95的相对表达水平（0.106±0.023）显著高于癌旁组织（0.046±0.025）（P < 0.05）。以miR-95表达均值为界将胃癌组织分为miR-95高表达组17例,低表达组13例。洛铂对miR-95表达水平高的胃癌细胞的抑制率低于miR-95低水平者（P < 0.05）。anti-miR-95转染后,SGC7901细胞对洛铂的敏感性明显增高（P < 0.01）,耐药相关基因MDR1、Survivin、xIAP mRNA和蛋白表达水平明显降低（P < 0.05）,而Bad mRNA和蛋白表达水平明显增高（P < 0.05）。miR-95 mimics转染后,洛铂对SGC7901细胞的抑制率明显增加（P < 0.01）,耐药相关基因MDR1、Survivin、xIAP mRNA和蛋白表达水平明显升高（P < 0.05）,而Bad mRNA和蛋白表达水平明显降低（P < 0.05）。结论：miR-95通过调节一些耐药基因的表达影响胃癌组织和细胞对洛铂的敏感性。     

Lutein/zeaxanthin isomers regulate neurotrophic factors and synaptic plasticity in trained rats

Background/aim This study was conducted to elucidate the effects of lutein/zeaxanthin isomers (L/Zi) on lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, NF-κB/Nrf2 pathways, and synaptic plasticity proteins in trained rats.Materials and methods Wistar rats were distributed into four groups: 1) control, 2) L/Zi: rats received L/Zi at the dose of 100 mg/kg by oral gavage, 3) exercise, 4) exercise+L/Zi: rats exercised and received L/Zi (100 mg/kg) by oral gavage. The duration of the study was eight weeks. Results Exercise combined with L/Zi reduced lipid peroxidation and improved antioxidant enzyme activities of muscle and cerebral cortex in rats (p < 0.001). In the Exercise + L/Zi group, muscle and cerebral cortex Nrf2 and HO-1 levels increased, while NF-κB levels decreased (p <0.001). Also, L/Zi improved BDNF, synapsin I, SYP, and GAP-43 levels of the cerebral cortex of trained rats (p < 0.001). The highest levels of BDNF, synapsin SYP, and GAP-43 in the cerebral cortex were determined in the Exercise+L/Zi group.Conclusion These results suggested that exercise combined with L/Zi supplementation might be effective to reduce neurodegeneration via improving neurotrophic factors and synaptic proteins, and oxidative capacity in the cerebral cortex.     

Evaluation of systemic involvement of Coronavirus disease 2019 through spleen; size and texture analysis

Background/aimTo investigate the changes in the spleen size, parenchymal heterogeneity, and computed tomography (CT) texture analysis features of patients diagnosed with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Materials and methodsThe size and parenchymal structure of the spleen in 91 patients who underwent thoracic CT examination due to COVID-19 were evaluated. For the evaluation of parenchymal heterogeneity, CT texture analysis was performed using dedicated software (Olea Medical, France). The texture analysis of each case consisted of 15 first-order intensity-based features, 17 gray level co-occurrence matrix-based features, and 9 gray level run length matrix-based features.ResultsA total of 91 patients (45 males, 46 females) with a mean age of 54.31 ± 16.33 years (range: 18–81) were included in the study. A statistically significant decrease in spleen size was seen in the follow-up CT examinations (p < 0.001) whereas no statistically significant difference was found between the Hounsfield unit (HU) values. The radiomics consisted of first-order intensity-based features such as 90th percentile, maximum, interquartile range, range, mean absolute deviation, standard deviation, and variance, all of which showed statistically significant differences (p - values: < 0.001, < 0.001, 0.001, 0.003, 0.001, 0.001, and 0.004, respectively). “Correlation” as a gray level co-occurrence matrix-based feature and “gray level nonuniformity” as a gray level run length matrix-based feature showed statistically differences (p-values: 0.033 and < 0.001, respectively).ConclusionsAlthough COVID-19 manifests with lung involvement in the early stage, it can also cause systemic involvement, and the spleen may be one of its target organs. A decrease in the spleen size and parenchymal microstructure changes can be observed in the short follow-up time. It is hoped that the changes in the parenchymal microstructure will be demonstrated by a noninvasive method: texture analysis.