Berberine Blocks the Relapse of Clostridium difficile Infection in C57BL/6 Mice after Standard Vancomycin Treatment

Vancomycin is a preferred antibiotic for treating Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and has been associated with a rate of recurrence of CDI of as high as 20% in treated patients. Recent studies have suggested that berberine, an alternative medical therapy for gastroenteritis and diarrhea, exhibits several beneficial effects, including induction of anti-inflammatory responses and restoration of the intestinal barrier function. This study investigated the therapeutic effects of berberine on preventing CDI relapse and restoring the gut microbiota in a mouse model. Berberine was administered through gavage to C57BL/6 mice with established CDI-induced intestinal injury and colitis. The disease activity index (DAI), mean relative weight, histopathology scores, and levels of toxins A and B in fecal samples were measured. An Illumina sequencing-based analysis of 16S rRNA genes was used to determine the overall structural change in the microbiota in the mouse ileocecum. Berberine administration significantly promoted the restoration of the intestinal microbiota by inhibiting the expansion of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and counteracting the side effects of vancomycin treatment. Therapy consisting of vancomycin and berberine combined prevented weight loss, improved the DAI and the histopathology scores, and effectively decreased the mortality rate. Berberine prevented CDIs from relapsing and significantly improved survival in the mouse model of CDI. Our data indicate that a combination of berberine and vancomycin is more effective than vancomycin alone for treating CDI. One of the possible mechanisms by which berberine prevents a CDI relapse is through modulation of the gut microbiota. Although this conclusion was generated in the case of the mouse model, use of the combination of vancomycin and berberine and represent a novel therapeutic approach targeting CDI.     

慢性肝损伤兔胆石症动物模型的构建

目的构建稳定、可行、可重复的兔慢性肝损伤胆石症模型。方法将90只新西兰大白兔随机分为空白对照组、肝纤维化组、肝纤维化胆石症组、肝硬化组和肝硬化胆石症组,空白对照组10只,其余各组各20只。空白对照组正常饮食,肝纤维化组、肝纤维化胆石症组予20%的CCl4-橄榄油溶液0.2ml/kg腹腔注射,肝硬化组、肝硬化胆石症组予25%的CCl4-橄榄油溶液0.3ml/kg腹腔注射,每4d1次,连续12周,进行肝组织病理学检查及Masson染色,计算结石形成率。结果肝纤维化组、肝硬化组、肝纤维化胆石症组和肝硬化胆石症组结石形成率分别为5%、10%、70%、70%,空白对照组、肝纤维化组与肝纤维化胆石症组成石率的三组间比较差异具有统计学意义(χ2=25.476,P<0.001),两两比较结果显示,空白对照组、肝纤维化组与肝纤维化胆石症组的比较差异均具有统计学意义(P1<0.001;P2<0.001);空白对照组、肝硬化组与肝硬化胆石症组成石率的三组间比较差异具有统计学意义(χ2=22.426,P<0.001),两两比较结果显示,空白对照组、肝硬化组与肝硬化胆石症组的比较差异均具有统计学意义(P1<0.001;P2<0.001)。结石主要为胆固醇结石,HE染色光镜下可见肝小叶结构遭到破坏,肝细胞肿大;Masson染色见纤维组织增多并变为蓝色,尤其在肝小叶汇管区较为明显,可见假小叶。结论通过用CCl4和高胆固醇、高热量致石饲料,能成功构建稳定、可行的兔慢性肝损伤胆石症模型,为慢性肝损伤兔胆石症实验动物模型的构建提供一定的借鉴和指导意义。     

Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy: a clinical and pathological study of 19 cases in a single institution

Objective: To study the clinical and pathological features of persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy. Method: The clinical and pathological data of 19 cases of persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy were retrieved and reviewed from the medical records in Children’s Hospital of Fudan University. Results: There were 13 boys and 6 girls. The age interval was from 16 days to 7 months, and the average age was 2.71±2.23 months. The blood glucose concentrations ranged from 0.57 to 3.0 mmol/L (average value 1.60±0.75 mmol/L) and the serum insulin concentrations ranged from 3.1 to 79.4 uIU/ml (average value 27.89±21.81 uIU/ml) at the time of one week before operation. The size of lesion was between 2 cm to 6.5 cm in maximum diameter (average value 4.04±1.18 cm). 19 cases were divided into three types according to the pathological classification criteria: focal type (1 case), diffuse type (17 cases) and atypical type (1 case). The enucleation of the nodule was given for the patient of focal type and subtotal pancreatectomy was administrated for diffuse and atypical type patients. The blood glucose concentrations ranged from 3.0 to 12.4 mmol/L (average value 6.21±2.69 mmol/L) at the time of one month after operation. The difference between the preoperative blood glucose concentrations and the postoperative blood glucose concentrations was statistically significant (1.6037±0.7458 mmol/L vs. 6.2105±2.6882 mmol/L, P<0.05). Insulin was positive for the multiple pancreatic islets, and the ki-67 index was between 5% and 8%. P57^kip2 was negative. 19 patients were followed up for a period of 2 to 38 months. 13 cases recovered well without any complications, and 6 cases had postoperative hyperglycemia and need a medication to control the blood glucose concentrations. Conclusion: Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy mainly occurred in infants. Boys had the predominance and the most common pathological type was the diffuse type. The different surgical methods (focal type with lesion enucleation, diffuse and atypical type with subtotal pancreatectomy), were effective for different patients, and most of patients had a good prognosis. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to maintain euglycemia remained the mainstay of management to prevent postoperative complications. Therefore, the correct pathological classification could help clinicians to find effective treatment and improve the outcome.     

Liposarcoma of the larynx: report of a case and review of literature

Liposarcomas of the larynx are extremely rare tumors, with only 37 cases reported in the English or French literature to date. The first two cases of laryngeal liposarcomas were reported respectively by Kapur and Dockerty in 1968 [1, 2]. Liposarcoma of the larynx is at high risk of local recurrence and seldom has metastatic potential. Prognosis for this tumor is better than that of non laryngeal liposarcoma. The present case is the first patient of primary liposarcoma of the larynx reported from China. A review of the literature was performed, and the presentation, position, pathological diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the patients with liposarcoma of the larynx of the reported cases before are analyzed.     

Knockdown of long noncoding RNA SPRY4-IT1 suppresses glioma cell proliferation,metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of ribonucleic molecules, participate in various cellular processes. They are highly expressed in several types of cancer and their expression was related to pathophysiological characteristics of tumor growth, therefore, they can be considered as a promising diagnostic tool and a convenient prognostic biomarker. SPRY4-IT1, belonging to a group of intron-retained lncRNAs, was reported to affect tumor development of many types of cancer. However, the expression and the role of SPRY4-IT1 in glioma are still unclear. Therefore, in this study, we examined for the first time the expression and role of SPRY4-IT1 in glioma cells. The results of our study showed that SPRY4-IT1 was up-regulated in human glioma tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of SPRY4-IT1 could inhibit glioma cell growth and migration. Moreover, knockdown of SPRY4-IT1 could inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype in glioma cells. Based on these findings, SPRY4-IT1 may be used as a new target for diagnosis and treatment of glioma.     

Ipsilateral breast metastasis from a pulmonary adenocarcinoma: a case report and a focused review of the literature

Metastases to the breast from extramammary malignancies are extremely rare. Ruling out the diagnosis of primary breast tumor is important in order to decide on clinical management and predict prognosis. We report a case of metastasis to the breast from a pulmonary adenocarcinoma, with extensive micropapillary component, diagnosed concomitantly with the primary tumor. A 52 year-old female patient presented with mammary gland tingling and dyspnea accompanied with fatigued of 4 months duration and a nodular shadows in the front of the upper lobe was found on a chest computed tomography (CT) scan. The original clinical diagnosis was right breast cancer with lung and bone metastasis, or breast and lung double primary cancers. In addition,on physical examination a poorly defined mass was noted in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast. The patient underwent thoracocentesis and breast biopsy. By imageology, cytology, histology and immunohistochemistry, we diagnosed primary lung cancer with metastases to the right breast and bone. The metastatic anatomic sites demonstrated histologically extensive micropapillary component, which is recently recognized as an important prognostic factor. The patient was administered 4 cycles of cisplatin and docetaxel, although no clinical response was seen, the patient is still alive 9 months after diagnosis. The result of immunohistochemistry is a useful supplement in differential diagnosis.     

肿瘤患者发生化疗诱导性恶心呕吐的危险因素分析

目的探讨肿瘤患者发生化疗诱导性恶心呕吐的危险因素,以期为筛选高危患者和制定预防措施提供临床依据。方法2012年1月至2013年5月,采用便利抽样法选取龙游县人民医院恶性肿瘤患者345名为研究对象,采用一般资料调查量表、状态-特质焦虑量表(statetrait anxiety inventory,STAI)和症状困扰量表(the symptom distress scale,SDS),对其进行调查,并采用单因素和Logistic回归分析法分析。结果 345名患者中有240例发生恶心呕吐,发生率为60.57%。单因素分析显示,不同年龄、性别、化疗周期、有无恶心呕吐史、焦虑、疼痛和是否应用铂类化疗药的患者,其诱导性恶心呕吐发生率的差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。Logistic回归分析显示,年龄、女性、恶心呕吐史、焦虑、疼痛、应用铂类化疗药和化疗周期是恶心呕吐发生的危险因素。结论化疗诱导性恶心呕吐的发生与多种因素有关,化疗前采取一定的预防措施可降低其发生率,保证化疗的顺利进行并提高患者的生活质量。