Long-term safety of lamivudine treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Data on the long-term safety of lamivudine are limited. The aim of this analysis was to determine the incidence of hepatitis flares, hepatic decompensation, and liver-disease-related (LDR) serious adverse events (SAE) during long-term lamivudine treatment. METHODS: We reviewed data on 998 patients with HBeAg-positive compensated chronic hepatitis B who received lamivudine for up to 6 years (median, 4 years) and 200 patients who received placebo for 1 year. RESULTS: Hepatitis flares occurred in 10% of the lamivudine-treated patients in year 1 and in 18%-21% in years 2-5. A temporal association between hepatitis flares and lamivudine-resistant mutations increased from 43% in year 1 to >80% in year 3. Ten hepatic decompensation events occurred in 8 (<1%) lamivudine-treated patients. Fifty-three (5%) lamivudine-treated patients experienced a total of 60 LDR SAEs. Four patients died, 2 from liver-related causes. The proportion of patients with a documented lamivudine-resistant mutation increased from 23% in year 1 to 65% in year 5. During each year of the study, patients with lamivudine-resistant mutations experienced significantly more hepatitis flares than patients without lamivudine-resistant mutations (P < 0.005). The occurrence of hepatic decompensation (0%-2%) and LDR SAEs (1%-10%) among patients with lamivudine resistance remained stable during the first 4 years with mutations and increased afterward to 6% (P = 0.03) and 20% (P = 0.009), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that lamivudine treatment for up to 6 years has an excellent safety profile in patients with HBeAg-positive compensated liver disease, but patients with long-standing lamivudine-resistant mutations may experience worsening liver disease.     

穿山龙提取物抗急性痛风性关节炎的尿液代谢组学分析

目的:对急性痛风性关节炎大鼠给予穿山龙提取物后的尿液代谢组学进行研究,寻找相关的潜在生物标志物及相关代谢通路。方法:采用尿酸钠(MSU)诱导的急性痛风性关节炎大鼠模型,将SD大鼠40只随机分为空白组、穿山龙提取物组、模型组、穿山龙提取物干预组,每组10只。给药组灌胃给予穿山龙提取物,给药剂量0. 48 g·kg~(-1),每天1次,连续5 d,于末次给药后,收集大鼠尿液,运用UPLC-Q-TOF/MS结合模式识别方法分析,采用正、负离子扫描模式下电喷雾离子源,数据采集范围m/z 100～1 500,采用全扫描方式。结果:鉴别出了12个共同的潜在生物标志物,分别为肌氨酸,二甲基甘氨酸,脱氧胞苷,尿酸,5-HT,L-胱硫醚,4-吡哆酸,脱氧尿苷,褪黑激素,5-甲氧基色胺,富马酸和胞苷。与空白组比较,穿山龙提取物组中这12个潜在生物标志物均明显下调;与模型组比较,在穿山龙提取物干预组的潜在生物标志物中,有10个上调,2个下调,穿山龙提取物对肌氨酸,尿酸,L-胱硫醚,4-吡哆酸,脱氧尿苷,5-甲氧基色胺,胞苷,二甲基甘氨酸,褪黑激素,富马酸这10个标志物均表现出了纠正异常表达的趋势;与急性痛风性关节炎相关性最强的代谢通路为半胱氨酸和甲硫氨酸代谢、色氨酸代谢。结论:穿山龙提取物可能是通过促进半胱氨酸和甲硫氨酸代谢中胱硫醚向半胱氨酸的转化水平,上调色氨酸代谢中褪黑激素,实现对痛风性关节炎的防治作用。     

Impact of intratumoral heterogeneity of breast cancer tissue on quantitative metabolomics using high‐resolution magic angle spinning 1H NMR spectroscopy

High‐resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is increasingly being used to study metabolite levels in human breast cancer tissue, assessing, for instance, correlations with prognostic factors, survival outcome or therapeutic response. However, the impact of intratumoral heterogeneity on metabolite levels in breast tumor tissue has not been studied comprehensively. More specifically, when biopsy material is analyzed, it remains questionable whether one biopsy is representative of the entire tumor. Therefore, multi‐core sampling (n = 6) of tumor tissue from three patients with breast cancer, followed by lipid (0.9‐ and 1.3‐ppm signals) and metabolite quantification using HR MAS ¹H NMR, was performed, resulting in the quantification of 32 metabolites. The mean relative standard deviation across all metabolites for the six tumor cores sampled from each of the three tumors ranged from 0.48 to 0.74. This was considerably higher when compared with a morphologically more homogeneous tissue type, here represented by murine liver (0.16–0.20). Despite the seemingly high variability observed within the tumor tissue, a random forest classifier trained on the original sample set (training set) was, with one exception, able to correctly predict the tumor identity of an independent series of cores (test set) that were additionally sampled from the same three tumors and analyzed blindly. Moreover, significant differences between the tumors were identified using one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA), indicating that the intertumoral differences for many metabolites were larger than the intratumoral differences for these three tumors. That intertumoral differences, on average, were larger than intratumoral differences was further supported by the analysis of duplicate tissue cores from 15 additional breast tumors. In summary, despite the observed intratumoral variability, the results of the present study suggest that the analysis of one, or a few, replicates per tumor may be acceptable, and supports the feasibility of performing reliable analyses of patient tissue.     

蛋氨酸合酶基因A275 6G位点多态性与非综合征型唇腭裂的关联性研究

Objective To study the association of the A2756G polymorphism of the methionine synthase (MS) gene with nonsyndromie cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in Chinese. Methods Ninety-seven NSCL/P case-parent triads were selected as the case group. One hundred and four healthy subjects and their biological parents were selected as control group. For all subjects the A2756G polymorphism of the MS gene was examined by PCR-RFLP method. Results There was no statistical difference in genotype and allele frequencies for MS A2756G variants among family members between case group and control group. The GG genotype was not detected in the offsprings and mothers. The odds ratio and confidence interval of genotype AG in offspring, father and mother were 1.78(0.74-4.34), 0.80(0. 36-1.79) and 1.26(0. 54-2.93) respectively. The odds ratio and confidence interval of allele G in offspring, father and mother were 1.70(0.78-3.73), 0. 88(0. 49-1. 75) , and 1.23(0.59-2.60) respectively. The G allele did not increase the risk of NSCL/P. Transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) analysis yielded no evidence of linkage disequilibrium (χ2=0.034,P>0. 05). The results of haplotype-based haplotype relative risk (HHRR) analysis (χ2=0.03,P>0.05) and family-based association tests (FBAT) (Z=0. 186, P> 0.05) failed to show association between the MS A2756G variant and the risk of NSCL/P. Conclusion The A2756G polymorphism of the MS gene was not associated with NSCL/P in Chinese in the present study.     

Neurotransmitter segregation: functional and plastic implications

Synaptic cotransmission is the ability of neurons to use more than one transmitter to convey synaptic signals. Cotransmission was originally described as the presence of a classic transmitter, which conveys main signal, along one or more cotransmitters that modulate transmission, later on, it was found cotransmission of classic transmitters. It has been generally accepted that neurons store and release the same set of transmitters in all their synaptic processes. However, some findings that show axon endings of individual neurons storing and releasing different sets of transmitters, are not in accordance with this assumption, and give support to the hypothesis that neurons can segregate transmitters to different synapses. Here, we review the studies showing segregation of transmitters in invertebrate and mammalian central nervous system neurons, and correlate them with our results obtained in sympathetic neurons. Our data show that these neurons segregate even classic transmitters to separated axons. Based on our data we suggest that segregation is a plastic phenomenon and responds to functional synaptic requirements, and to 'environmental' cues such as neurotrophins. We propose that neurons have the machinery to guide the different molecules required in synaptic transmission through axons and sort them to different axon endings. We believe that transmitter segregation improves neuron interactions during cotransmission and gives them selective and better control of synaptic plasticity.     

The c.797 G>A (p.R266K) cystathionine β‐synthase mutation causes homocystinuria by affecting protein stability

Mutations in the cystathionine beta‐synthase (CBS) gene are the cause of classical homocystinuria, the most common inborn error in sulfur metabolism. The c.797 G>A (p.R266K) mutation in CBS was originally described in several Norwegian pyridoxine responsive CBS deficient patients, and heterologous gene expression studies have shown that the protein has near wild‐type levels of enzyme activity. Here, we characterize a transgenic mouse lacking endogenous Cbs and expressing p.R266K human CBS protein from a zinc inducible metallothionein promoter (Tg‐R266K Cbs^‐/‐). Unlike mice expressing other mutant CBS alleles, the Tg‐R266K transgene is unable to efficiently rescue neonatal lethality of Cbs^‐/‐ on a C57BL/6J background. On a C3H/HeJ background, zinc‐induced Tg‐R266K Cbs^‐/‐ mice express CBS mRNA, but have very low levels of CBS protein and enzyme activity, resulting in extreme elevations in serum total homocysteine (tHcy). Treatment with pyridoxine did not have any appreciable effect on tHcy, indicating this allele is not pyridoxine responsive in mice. However, treatment with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib resulted in an 97% reduction in tHcy and a 2381% increase in liver CBS activity. These studies show that the p.R266K mutation causes increased proteasomal degradation in vivo, and that treatments that stabilize the protein can be used to reverse its effect.     

Influence of combined methionine synthase (MTR 2756A > G) and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR 677C > T) polymorphisms to plasma homocysteine levels in Korean patients with ischemic stroke

PURPOSE: Methionine synthase (MTR) and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) are the main regulatory enzymes for homocysteine metabolism. The present case- control study was conducted to determine whether there is an association between the MTR 2756A > G or MTHFR 677C > T polymorphism and plasma homocysteine concentration in Korean subjects with ischemic stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: DNA samples of 237 patients who had an ischemic stroke and 223 age and sex-matched controls were studied. MTR 2756A > G and MTHFR 677C > T genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: Frequencies of mutant alleles for MTR and MTHFR polymorphisms were not significantly different between the controls and cases. The patient group, however, had significantly higher homocysteine concentrations of the MTR 2756AA and MTHFR 677TT genotypes than the control group (p=0.04 for MTR, p=0.01 for MTHFR). The combined MTR 2756AA and MTHFR 677TT genotype (p= 0.04) and the homocysteine concentrations of the patient group were also higher than those of the controls. In addition, the genotype distribution was significant in the MTHFR 677TT genotype (p=0.008) and combined MTR 2756AA and MTHFR 677TT genotype (p=0.03), which divided the groups into the top 20% and bottom 20% based on their homocysteine levels. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study demonstrate that the MTR 2756A > G and MTHFR 677C > T polymorphisms interact with elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) levels, leading to an increased risk of ischemic stroke.     

Murine β-galactosidase stability is not dependent on temperature or protective protein/cathepsin A

GM1 gangliosidosis, a neurodegenerative disorder, and Morquio B disease, a skeletal disorder, are lysosomal storage disorders caused by inherited defects in the enzyme β-galactosidase (GLB1; EC 3.1.2.23; MIM #611458). Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), a standard of care for a number of non-neuronopathic lysosomal storage disorders, is not yet available for GLB1 deficiency. Although functionally active recombinant human and feline GLB1 precursors have been purified, ERT has not yet been demonstrated in GM1 gangliosidosis or Morquio B disease models. A major obstacle to developing effective therapy may be the stability of human GLB1. We show here that mouse GLB1 has greater stability when compared to human GLB1, and that human GLB1 activity is temperature and protective-dependent on protein cathepsin A, while that of mouse GLB1 is not. These findings may impact on the eventual development of ERT for GLB1 deficiency. Despite our attempts to improve the extracellular stability of human GLB1 through sequence modification and the use of chemical chaperone N-butyldeoxygalactonojirimycin, the specific enzyme activity remained well below that of mGLB1.     

High dietary methionine plus cholesterol stimulates early atherosclerosis and late fibrous cap development which is associated with a decrease in GRP78 positive plaque cells

The role of homocysteine, or its precursor methionine, in the formation of fibrous caps and its association with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is unclear. Homocysteine can stimulate collagen accumulation and upregulate the ER stress chaperone glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78). The aim of this study was to determine if high dietary methionine would increase fibrous caps, and that removal of an atherogenic diet would decrease the amount of ER stressed cells. New Zealand white rabbits were fed for 2, 4, or 12 weeks an atherogenic diet [1% methionine + 0.5% cholesterol (2MC, 4MC or 12MC)]; for 4 or 12 weeks a 0.5% cholesterol diet (4Ch, 12Ch); and to study plaque regression, an MC diet for 2 or 4 weeks accompanied by 10 weeks of a normal diet (2MCr, 4MCr). Endothelial function, atherosclerosis and GRP78 positive cells were studied. Endothelial function was abolished in 4MC and atherosclerosis increased 17-fold ( P  < 0.05) compared with 4Ch. Fibrous caps composed 48% of total plaque area in 12MC vs. 10% in 12Ch ( P  < 0.01), and 12MC expressed less GRP78 plaque cells vs. 12Ch ( P  < 0.01). Four MCr had less plaque GRP78 cells than 12MC ( P  < 0.05) and less endothelial GRP78 cells ( P  < 0.01). In addition, GRP78 positive cells were the highest in 4MC, but decreased in all other groups ( P  < 0.01). GRP78 positive cells within the fibrous cap inversely correlated with cap size ( r ² = 0.9). These studies suggest that high dietary methionine could be beneficial for plaque stabilisation, and a normal diet also stabilises plaque and decreases the number of stressed plaque cells.