Loss of function,missense, and intronic variants in NOTCH1 confer different risks for left ventricular outflow tract obstructive heart defects in two European cohorts

Loss of function variants in NOTCH1 cause left ventricular outflow tract obstructive defects (LVOTO). However, the risk conferred by rare and noncoding variants in NOTCH1 for LVOTO remains largely uncharacterized. In a cohort of 49 families affected by hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe form of LVOTO, we discovered predicted loss of function NOTCH1 variants in 6% of individuals. Rare or low-frequency missense variants were found in 16% of families. To make a quantitative estimate of the genetic risk posed by variants in NOTCH1 for LVOTO, we studied associations of 400 coding and noncoding variants in NOTCH1 in 1,085 cases and 332,788 controls from the UK Biobank. Two rare intronic variants in strong linkage disequilibrium displayed significant association with risk for LVOTO amongst European-ancestry individuals. This result was replicated in an independent analysis of 210 cases and 68,762 controls of non-European and mixed ancestry. In conclusion, carrying rare predicted loss of function variants in NOTCH1 confer significant risk for LVOTO. In addition, the two intronic variants seem to be associated with an increased risk for these defects. Our approach demonstrates the utility of population-based data sets in quantifying the specific risk of individual variants for disease-related phenotypes.     

肛肠疾病手术前后肛管直肠压力测定的应用

目的:探讨肛肠疾病手术前后肛管直肠压力测定的应用。方法:将2018年5月-2019年5月在上海市松江区方塔中医医院及上海中医药大学附属曙光医院肛肠科行手术治疗的826例肛肠疾病患者作为研究对象,其中,选择性痔上黏膜吻合术246例、单纯外剥内扎术115例、外剥内扎结合内痔套扎术(Automatic Ligation of Hemorrhoids,RPH)153例、低位肛瘘切除术177例、高位肛瘘切开挂线术135例,分别于术前及术后1个月测定肛管直肠压力。结果:选择性痔上黏膜吻合术后直肠静息压、肛管静息压明显低于术前,肛管舒张压高于术前(P<0.05),但肛管最大收缩压与术前相比无明显差异(P>0.05);单纯外剥内扎术术后直肠静息压、肛管静息压明显低于术前,肛管舒张压、肛管最大收缩压明显高于术前(P<0.05);外剥内扎结合内痔套扎术术后直肠静息压、肛管静息压明显低于术前,肛管舒张压、肛管最大收缩压明显高于术前(P<0.05);低位肛瘘切除术术后直肠静息压、肛管静息压、肛管舒张压均高于术前(P<0.05),而肛管最大收缩压与术前相比无明显差异(P>0.05);高位肛瘘切开挂线术术后直肠静息压高于术前,肛管静息压、肛管舒张压低于术前(P<0.05),而与肛管最大收缩压术前相比无明显差异(P>0.05)。结论:肛肠疾病手术前后肛管直肠压力测定的应用效果显著,能准确判断手术效果及患者恢复情况,为医师的进一步诊治奠定了良好基础。     

Host MyD88 signaling protects against acute graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

Recent experimental strategies to reduce graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) have focused largely on modifying innate immunity. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-driven myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88)-dependent signalling pathways that initiate adaptive immune function are also critical for the pathogenesis of GVHD. This study aimed to delineate the role of host MyD88 in the development of acute GVHD following fully major histocompatibility complex-mismatched allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). When myeloablated BALB/c MyD88 knock-out recipients were transplanted with C57BL/6 (B6) donor cells, they developed significantly more severe GVHD than wild-type (WT) BALB/c hosts. The increased morbidity and mortality in MyD88^–/– mice correlated with increased serum levels of lipopolysaccharide and elevated inflammatory cytokines in GVHD target organs. Additionally, MyD88 deficiency in BMT recipients led to increased donor T cell expansion and more donor CD11c⁺ cell intestinal infiltration with apoptotic cells but reduced proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells compared with that in WT BMT recipients. Decreased expression of tight junction mRNA in epithelial cells of MyD88^–/– mice suggested that MyD88 contributes to intestinal integrity. Cox-2 expression in the GVHD-targeted organs of WT mice is increased upon GVHD induction, but this enhanced expression was obviously inhibited by MyD88 deficiency. The present findings demonstrate an unexpected role for host MyD88 in preventing GVHD after allogeneic BMT.     

Protein kinase Cδ mediates trimethyltin-induced neurotoxicity in mice in vivo via inhibition of glutathione defense mechanism

We investigated whether protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in trimethyltin (TMT)-induced neurotoxicity. TMT treatment (2.8 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly increased PKCδ expression out of PKC isozymes (i.e., α, βI, βII, δ, and ?) in the hippocampus of wild-type (WT) mice. Consistently, treatment with TMT resulted in significant increases in cleaved PKCδ expression. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition (PKCδ knockout or rottlerin) was less susceptible to TMT-induced seizures than WT mice. TMT treatment increased glutathione oxidation, lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and levels of reactive oxygen species. These effects were more pronounced in the WT mice than in PKCδ knockout mice. In addition, the ability of TMT to induce nuclear translocation of Nrf2, Nrf2 DNA-binding activity, and upregulation of γ-glutamylcysteine ligase was significantly increased in the PKCδ knockout mice and rottlerin (10 or 20 mg/kg, p.o. × 6)-treated WT mice. Furthermore, neuronal degeneration (as shown by nuclear chromatin clumping and TUNEL staining) in WT mice was most pronounced 2 days after TMT. At the same time, TMT-induced inhibition of phosphoinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling was evident, thereby decreasing phospho-Bad, expression of Bcl-xL and Bcl-2, and the interaction between phospho-Bad and 14-3-3 protein, and increasing Bax expression and caspase-3 cleavage were observed. Rottlerin or PKCδ knockout significantly protected these changes in anti- and pro-apoptotic factors. Importantly, treatment of the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (0.8 or 1.6 µg, i.c.v.) 4 h before TMT counteracted protective effects (i.e., Nrf-2-dependent glutathione induction and pro-survival phenomenon) of rottlerin. Therefore, our results suggest that down-regulation of PKCδ and up-regulations of Nrf2-dependent glutathione defense mechanism and PI3K/Akt signaling are critical for attenuating TMT neurotoxicity.     

正常人及脑肿瘤患者听觉性中英文语言刺激的fMRI研究

目的应用BOLD-MfRI研究正常人及脑肿瘤患者听觉性中英文语言皮层定位并探讨其对脑肿瘤的临床应用价值。方法应用MarconiEclipse1.5T超导型磁共振机,30例受试者,行听觉性中、英文语言刺激的BOLD-MfRI,以定位正常人和脑肿瘤患者的语言皮层。结果正常人听觉性中英文语言任务激活区域均以左侧大脑半球为主,主要有双侧颞横回、Wernicke区、Broca区和SMA区。中文语言任务刺激时脑区激活面积和程度比英文语言任务大,但英文语言任务时可见更明显的Broca区和角回激活。累及功能皮层的脑肿瘤患者患侧半球可见残留部分功能激活区,但激活区移位,分布弥散,激活程度及范围较正常人略增高。未累及功能皮层者功能区定位与正常人大致相同。结论BOLD-MfRI是一种有效而无创的功能皮层定位方法,有利于脑肿瘤的精确定位诊断并指导临床治疗。     

Soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in acute respiratory infections.

Levels of the soluble form of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (sTREM)-1 are elevated in severe sepsis. However, it is not known whether sTREM-1 measurements can distinguish milder bacterial infections from noninfectious inflammation. The present authors studied whether serum sTREM-1 levels differ in community-acquired pneumonia, exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and controls, and whether sTREM-1 may be used as a surrogate marker for the need for antibiotics. Serum sTREM-1 levels in 150 patients with pneumonia, COPD and asthma exacerbations and 62 healthy controls were measured. Serum sTREM-1 levels were significantly elevated in pneumonia (median 295.2 ng x mL(-1)), COPD (280.3 ng x mL(-1)) and asthma exacerbations (184.0 ng x mL(-1)) compared with controls (83.1 ng x mL(-1)). Levels were higher in pneumonia and Anthonisen type 1 COPD exacerbations than in type 2 and 3 COPD and asthma exacerbations. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve for sTREM-1 as a surrogate marker for the need for antibiotics was 0.77. Serum levels of the soluble form of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 were elevated predominantly in pneumonia and Anthonisen type 1 COPD exacerbations versus type 2 and 3 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, asthma and controls. Serum levels of the soluble form of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 has moderate but insufficient accuracy as a surrogate marker for the need for antibiotics in lower respiratory tract infections.     

Pulmonary Lophomonas blattarum infection in patients with kidney allograft transplantation

The aim of the study was to analyse the clinical manifestation and management of pulmonary Lophomonas blattarum infection in four allograft transplantation recipients retrospectively. Four patients with pulmonary L. blattarum infection were diagnosed by using Fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) examination. Their clinical manifestation and management are summarized. Four cases of pulmonary L. blattarum were found during the period from the second month to the third month after transplantation. Concurring infection by other pathogens was found in three of them. Common initial symptoms included fever (>38 degrees C) without cough and breathlessness. Lower lobe shadowing could be found on chest X-ray. Body temperature decreased to the normal range in three patients and to 37.5 degrees C in the other one, after intravenous injection of metronidazole and tapering immunosuppressant. Radiological examination confirmed improved health condition of the patients afterwards. Two patients received repeated FOB and only dead L. blattarum was found. Pulmonary L. blattarum infection in allograft transplant recipients carry relatively obscure initial symptoms. Possible L. blattarum infection needs to be screened in post-transplantation pulmonary infection patients with similar symptoms, especially in those who respond poorly to anti-infection treatment. Microscopic examination of BAL fluid can help to identify pulmonary L. blattarum infection and metronidazole is an ideal treatment choice.