Antigens targeted to the Leishmania phagolysosome are processed for CD4+ T cell recognition

Processing of antigen for recognition by class II-restricted CD4⁺ T cells occurs within acidic compartments of the antigen-presenting cell. The exact nature of this compartment has yet to be precisely defined, however, but may vary depending upon the cell type studied and the antigen used. The acidic compartments of macrophages are also responsible for the degradation of ingested micro-organisms and play host to others which are adapted to an intracellular existance. To determine whether the phagolysosome (PL) formed in activated macrophages after ingestion of Leishmania parasites is also a site for entry of antigen into the class II presentation pathway, we have used the approach of genetic transformation. Hence, Leishmania were transfected with the genes for the protein antigens ovalbumin (OVA) and β-galactosidase (β-gal) and after infection were able to deliver these antigens specifically into the PL. Delivery of antigen to this site resulted in the ability of infected macrophages to present these antigens to antigen-specific CD4⁺ T cells. After taking into account the absolute levels of antigen uptake by macrophages, a 4-h processing period for OVA delivered by this or a soluble route led to equivalent levels of T cell activation. Unlike macrophages pulsed with soluble OVA, those with PL-targeted OVA still retained the ability to stimulate T cells after a 24-h processing period. This enhanced lifespan of antigen in macrophages corresponded to the kinetics of degradation of the parasite, suggesting slow release of antigen into the processing pathway. β-gal presentation from the PL was tenfold less efficient under the same conditions. In addition to providing the first information on antigen processing in a protozoan PL, these studies highlight the usefulness of genetically transformed parasites for these types of studies.     

血清生长分化因子15水平与慢性淋巴细胞白血病发生风险的关联研究

目的 采用两样本孟德尔随机化研究方法探讨血清生长分化因子15(GDF15)水平与慢性淋巴细胞白血病(CLL)发生之间的关联。方法 基于欧洲人群血清GDF15和CLL的全基因组关联研究公开数据库,筛选与血清GDF15水平相关的遗传变异位点作为工具变量,采用逆方差加权法评估遗传学预测的血清GDF15浓度与CLL发生的关联,采用最大似然比法进行敏感性分析,采用MR-Egger回归探讨工具变量潜在多效性。结果 研究共纳入3个单核苷酸多态位点作为工具变量,逆方差加权法结果显示,血清GDF15水平与CLL发生风险之间存在负相关,GDF15浓度每升高一个标准差(SD),CLL发生风险降低33%(95%置信区间:2%～54%)(P=0.039)。敏感性分析得到了一致的结果。此外,MR-Egger回归未发现存在多效性。结论 本研究结果提示,在欧洲人群中,血清GDF15水平与CLL发生之间可能存在负相关,仍需大样本人群研究及体内外实验进一步阐明GDF15在CLL发生发展中的作用及其潜在生物学机制。     

ABCB4基因突变合并巨细胞病毒感染致婴儿胆汁淤积症的诊治分析并文献复习

目的探讨ABCB4基因突变合并巨细胞病毒(CMV)感染致婴儿胆汁淤积症(IC)患儿的临床特征、基因检测结果和诊治方案。 方法选择2019年8月3日,于中山大学附属第七医院就诊并确诊为ABCB4基因突变合并CMV感染致IC的1例婴儿(女性,生后9个月)为研究对象。回顾性分析其临床病例资料,包括临床特征、实验室检查结果及基因检测结果。同时,检索国内外数据库中ABCB4基因突变所致IC患儿的相关文献,并进行文献复习。本研究遵循的程序符合2013年新修订的《世界医学协会赫尔辛基宣言》要求。 结果本例IC患儿在本院诊治结果如下。①病史采集：系G₂P₂,足月顺产,外观无异常,否认新生儿黄疸病史,生后2个月龄时出现皮肤及巩膜呈暗绿色,伴反复呕奶,当地医院治疗并诊断为胆汁淤积性肝病、CMV感染和泌尿系统感染,抗病毒治疗2周后好转出院。出院时,其血清总胆汁酸(sTBA)为152.8 μmol/L,CMV-DNA<4×10² copies/mL,口服熊去氧胆酸胶囊10 mg/(kg·d)治疗后,皮肤暗绿色逐渐消退,大、小便正常。出院后定期监测肝功能,sTBA、γ-谷氨酰转肽酶(GGT)仍然较正常值增高。②实验室检查：血清CMV免疫球蛋白(Ig)G抗体呈阳性、CMV IgM抗体呈阴性,CMV-DNA<55×10² copies/mL。基因检测结果：患儿及其父亲均携带ABCB4基因杂合变异。治疗结果：经口服熊去氧胆酸胶囊10 mg/(kg·d)及谷胱甘肽片0.1 g/次× 3次/d治疗后,对患儿定期复查sTBA、GGT。随访到18个月龄时,其各项指标逐渐恢复正常范围。③文献复习结果：共计检索到8篇国内外报道的因ABCB4基因突变引起IC相关文献,纳入14例IC患儿,均被诊断为进行性家族性肝内胆汁淤积3型(PFIC3),伴肝大,sTBA、GGT水平升高等。14例IC患儿中,共检测到ABCB4基因突变位点20个。其中,9例IC患儿接受熊去氧胆酸治疗,7例随访结果显示临床症状及实验室检查指标有所好转。 结论携带ABCB4基因突变,可引起IC。对于sTBA升高、肝酶异常的病因不明确、治疗效果不佳IC患儿,建议完善基因检测进一步排查ABCB4基因突变所致胆汁淤积症。     

用Amp—Flp方法分析D1S80位点多态性

目的：为了解广西壮族人群D1S80位点群体遗传资料,方法,使用扩增片段长度多态性（Amp-Flp)和PCR结合聚丙烯酰胺凝电脉及银染技术,对300名文本地区壮族无关个体D1S80位点多态性分析,结果,观察到23个等位基因,74个基因型,杂合度,非交排除率,个体识别力及多态信息含量分别为0.824,0.763,0.968,0.875,其基因频率分布符合Hardy-weinberg定律,对5个家系相关个体分析符合孟德尔定律,结认,该方法具有快速,简便,特异性强,灵敏度高特点。     

Two-stage Study of Familial Prostate Cancer by Whole-exome Sequencing and Custom Capture Identifies 10 Novel Genes Associated with the Risk of Prostate Cancer

BackgroundFamily history of prostate cancer (PCa) is a well-known risk factor, and both common and rare genetic variants are associated with the disease.ObjectiveTo detect new genetic variants associated with PCa, capitalizing on the role of family history and more aggressive PCa.Design, setting, and participantsA two-stage design was used. In stage one, whole-exome sequencing was used to identify potential risk alleles among affected men with a strong family history of disease or with more aggressive disease (491 cases and 429 controls). Aggressive disease was based on a sum of scores for Gleason score, node status, metastasis, tumor stage, prostate-specific antigen at diagnosis, systemic recurrence, and time to PCa death. Genes identified in stage one were screened in stage two using a custom-capture design in an independent set of 2917 cases and 1899 controls.Outcome measurements and statistical analysisFrequencies of genetic variants (singly or jointly in a gene) were compared between cases and controls.Results and limitationsEleven genes previously reported to be associated with PCa were detected (ATM, BRCA2, HOXB13, FAM111A, EMSY, HNF1B, KLK3, MSMB, PCAT1, PRSS3, and TERT), as well as an additional 10 novel genes (PABPC1, QK1, FAM114A1, MUC6, MYCBP2, RAPGEF4, RNASEH2B, ULK4, XPO7, and THAP3). Of these 10 novel genes, all but PABPC1 and ULK4 were primarily associated with the risk of aggressive PCa.ConclusionsOur approach demonstrates the advantage of gene sequencing in the search for genetic variants associated with PCa and the benefits of sampling patients with a strong family history of disease or an aggressive form of disease.Patient summaryMultiple genes are associated with prostate cancer (PCa) among men with a strong family history of this disease or among men with an aggressive form of PCa.     

Transcriptomic and Immunophenotypic Characterization of Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Tongue

The tumor immune microenvironment of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma may be accountable for differences in clinical behavior, particularly between different age groups. We performed RNA expression profiling and evaluated tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and their T-cell subsets in order to assess the functional status of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma tumor microenvironment and detect potentially clinically useful associations. Archival surgical pathology material from sixteen oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients was microscopically evaluated for TIL densities. RNA was extracted from macrodissected whole tumor sections and normal controls and RNA expression profiling was performed by the NanoString PanCancer IO 360 Gene Expression Panel. Immunostains for CD4, CD8 and FOXP3 were evaluated manually and by digital image analysis. Oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas had increased TIL densities, numerically dominated by CD4 + T cells, followed by CD8 + and FOXP3 + T cells. RNA expression profiling of tumors versus normal controls showed tumor signature upregulation in inhibitory immune signaling (CTLA4, TIGIT and PD-L2), followed by inhibitory tumor mechanisms (IDO1, TGF-β, B7-H3 and PD-L1). Patients older than 44 years showed a tumor microenvironment with increased Tregs and CTLA4 expression. Immunohistochemically assessed CD8% correlated well with molecular signatures related to CD8 + cytotoxic T-cell functions. FOXP3% correlated significantly with CTLA4 upregulation. CTLA4 molecular signature could be predicted by FOXP3% assessed by immunohistochemistry (R² = 0.619, p = 0.026). Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma hosts a complex inhibitory immune microenvironment, partially reflected in immunohistochemically quantified CD8 + and FOXP3 + T-cell subsets. Immunohistochemistry can be a useful screening tool for detecting tumors with upregulated expression of the targetable molecule CTLA4.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s12105-020-01229-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

不良妊娠结局与夫妻MTHFR基因多态性的相关性及叶酸代谢风险评估策略的研究

目的 探讨夫妻亚甲基四氢叶酸还原酶（methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, MTHFR)基因C677T和A1298C多态性与不良妊娠结局的相关性及现有叶酸代谢风险等级评估策略的可行性。方法 选取145对曾有不良妊娠结局的夫妻和110对正常对照,应用Sanger测序检测MTHFR 677、1298位点多态性,分别比较病例组与对照组间女性、男性各基因型分布是否存在显著差异;据现有叶酸代谢风险等级评估策略对研究对象进行分级,比较两组中不同风险等级病例的分布是否存在显著差异。结果 病例组男性和女性MTHFR 677 位点C/C基因型频率均低于对照组,C/T、T/T基因型频率均高于对照组,两组中男性和女性的MTHFR 677位点3种基因型分布差异均有统计学意义（P＜0.05）;病例组男性和女性MTHFR 1298位点A/C基因型频率均高于对照组,A/A、C/C基因型频率均低于对照组,两组男性和女性MTHFR 1298位点3种基因型分布差异均无统计学意义（P＞0.05）;两组间男性和女性的叶酸代谢风险级别分布差异均有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。结论 女性MTHFR C677T多态性变异与不良妊娠结果有明显相关性,不能排除男性MTHFR C677T多态性改变与不良妊娠结局无关,建议孕前夫妻双方同时进行MTHFR基因多态性检测。可根据叶酸代谢风险分级策略,为夫妻双方制定合理的个体化叶酸增补方案。     

基于数据挖掘的低增生性骨髓增生异常综合征与再生障碍性贫血分类模型研究

目的 构建低增生性骨髓增生异常综合征（hypo-MDS）与再生障碍性贫血（AA）鉴别诊断的决策树、贝叶斯、卷积神经网络、改进的支持向量机四种模型并选择出最优模型。方法 收集2010—2019年华北理工大学附属医院的AA与hypo-MDS患者的病例资料,使用统计学方法筛选指标,将处理后的样本以4[DK]∶1随机分为训练集和测试集,构建决策树、贝叶斯、卷积神经网络、改进的支持向量机四种模型,采用五折交叉验证法多次重复验证,通过灵敏度、AUC等指标评价鉴别诊断效果。结果 hypo-MDS患者红细胞、血红蛋白含量等指标低于AA患者,成熟单核细胞比例等指标高于AA患者,年龄和职业分布也存在差异(P＜0.05）;最终选出21个特异性指标。四种模型的分类效果比较:灵敏度分别为82.56%、65.12%、87.21%、79.07%;AUC分别为0.81、0.68、0.82、0.83;准确率分别为75.32%、69.48%、77.27%、74.03%。对卷积神经网络的误判病例分析得出年龄、血成熟淋巴细胞等7个指标均存在差异（P＜0.05）。结论 在决策树、贝叶斯、卷积神经网络、改进的支持向量机四种诊断模型中,卷积神经网络具有最佳分类效果。     

脂质体介导Neo R和Lac Z双标志基因共转导原代造血细胞及其表达的研究(英文)

在介导体内外基因转移方面,脂质体已显示出许多优于病毒载体的特征.然而,有关脂质体介导造血细胞基因转移的报道很少.本文描述了脂质体介导双标志基因(Neo~R和Lac Z)在体外共转移进入人及小鼠原代造血细胞的研究.基因转移的效率通过X-gal染色及观察集落的形成来评价.结果显示,在存在G418的体系中,转导细胞能够存活并形成集落,而未转导细胞则不能存活.同时,转导阳性细胞能够被X-gal染成蓝色.其蓝染阳性细胞率在人及小鼠造血细胞于G418选择前分别为13.33± 2.68%和16.28± 2.95%.经G418选择启分别达到46.06±3.47%及43.45±4.1%,显著高于筛选前(P<0.01).提示,利用脂质体这一简单、安全的转导策略在原代造血细胞可获得高效的基因转移及稳定的表达.同时,共转导双标志基因进入造血细胞可用作高集转导阳性细胞.这一结论对于临床进一步探讨造血重建的生物学特征、追踪白血病的复发机制以及利用造血细胞作为靶细胞进行基因治疗的研究提供了实验依据.