Enlarged high frequency oscillations of the median nerve somatosensory evoked potential and survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

ObjectiveA large N20 and P25 of the median nerve somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) predicts short survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We investigated whether high frequency oscillations (HFOs) over N20 are enlarged and associated with survival in ALS.MethodsA total of 145 patients with ALS and 57 healthy subjects were studied. We recorded the median nerve SEP and measured the onset-to-peak amplitude of N20 (N20o-p), and peak-to-peak amplitude between N20 and P25 (N20p-P25p). We obtained early and late HFO potentials by filtering SEP between 500 and 1 kHz, and measured the peak-to-peak amplitude. We followed up patients until endpoints (death or tracheostomy) and analyzed the relationship between SEP or HFO amplitudes and survival using a Cox analysis.ResultsPatients showed larger N20o-p, N20p-P25p, and early and late HFO amplitudes than the control values. N20p-P25p was associated with survival periods (p = 0.0004), while early and late HFO amplitudes showed no significant association with survival (p = 0.4307, and p = 0.6858, respectively).ConclusionsThe HFO amplitude in ALS is increased, but does not predict survival.SignificanceThe enlarged HFOs in ALS might be a compensatory phenomenon to the hyperexcitability of the sensory cortex pyramidal neurons.     

Assessment of oral ciprofloxacin impaired gut barrier integrity on gut bacteria in mice

Gut bacteria and gut barrier plays important roles in body homeostasis. Ciprofloxacin (CPFX) is widely used to treat bacterial infections. However, whether high dosage of CPFX has side effects on gut barrier integrity is still unclear. Our results indicated that the High CPFX treatment (1 mg/ml) caused weight loss, nervousness, anorexia, and increased apoptosis cells in gut, but less influence was observed in the Low CPFX group (0.2 mg/ml). Meanwhile, the High CPFX treatment impaired tight junction molecules Ocln/ZO-1 level and down-regulated antibacterial genes expression (reg3γ, pla2g2α and defb1). Further, the High CPFX treatment increased pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β in intestinal tract, decreased IL-17A of duodenum but increased IL-17A of colon at day 37. In addition, the gut bacterial diversity and richness behaved significantly loss regarding CPFX treatment, especially in the High CPFX group during the experiment. Indole exhibited sharply decline in both Low and High CPFX groups at day 7, and the High CPFX mice needed longer time on restoring indole level. Meanwhile, CPFX treatment strongly decreased the concentrations of butyric acid and valeric acid at day 1. Correlation analysis indicated that the linked patterns between the key bacteria (families Bacteroidales_S247, Ruminococcaceae and Desulfovibrionaceae) and metabolites (indole and butyric acid) were disturbed via the CPFX treatment. In conclusion, the High CPFX treatment impaired the gut barrier with the evidence of reduced expression of tight junction proteins, increased apoptosis cells and inflammatory cells, decreased the bacterial diversity and composition, which suggesting a proper antibiotic-dosage use should be carefully considered in disease treatment.     

Immunisation with the BCG and DTPw vaccines induces different programs of trained immunity in mice

In addition to providing pathogen-specific immunity, vaccines can also confer nonspecific effects (NSEs) on mortality and morbidity unrelated to the targeted disease. Immunisation with live vaccines, such as the BCG vaccine, has generally been associated with significantly reduced all-cause infant mortality. In contrast, some inactivated vaccines, such as the diphtheria, tetanus, whole-cell pertussis (DTPw) vaccine, have been controversially associated with increased all-cause mortality especially in female infants in high-mortality settings. The NSEs associated with BCG have been attributed, in part, to the induction of trained immunity, an epigenetic and metabolic reprograming of innate immune cells, increasing their responsiveness to subsequent microbial encounters. Whether non-live vaccines such as DTPw induce trained immunity is currently poorly understood. Here, we report that immunisation of mice with DTPw induced a unique program of trained immunity in comparison to BCG immunised mice. Altered monocyte and DC cytokine responses were evident in DTPw immunised mice even months after vaccination. Furthermore, splenic cDCs from DTPw immunised mice had altered chromatin accessibility at loci involved in immunity and metabolism, suggesting that these changes were epigenetically mediated. Interestingly, changing the order in which the BCG and DTPw vaccines were co-administered to mice altered subsequent trained immune responses. Given these differences in trained immunity, we also assessed whether administration of these vaccines altered susceptibility to sepsis in two different mouse models. Immunisation with either BCG or a DTPw-containing vaccine prior to the induction of sepsis did not significantly alter survival. Further studies are now needed to more fully investigate the potential consequences of DTPw induced trained immunity in different contexts and to assess whether other non-live vaccines also induce similar changes.     

Interleukin-11 Overexpression and M2 Macrophage Density are Associated with Angiogenic Activity in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To investigate the expression of IL-11 and its receptor IL-11Rα and to quantify density of CD163⁺ M2 macrophages in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).     

骨填充网袋椎体成形术与经皮椎体后凸成形术治疗Kümmell病的疗效比较

目的比较骨填充网袋椎体成形术（Vesselplasty）与经皮椎体后凸成形术（percutaneous kyphoplasty，PKP）治疗 Kümmell 病的临床疗效。方法2015 年 1 月—2018 年 12 月收治 63 例 Kümmell 病患者，其中 28 例采用 Vesselplasty 治疗（Vesselplasty 组），35 例采用 PKP 治疗（PKP 组）。两组患者性别、年龄、病程、骨密度 T 值、骨折节段及术前疼痛视觉模拟评分（VAS）、Oswestry 功能障碍指数（ODI）、伤椎前缘高度、后凸 Cobb 角等一般资料比较，差异均无统计学意义（P>0.05），具有可比性。记录两组手术时间、术中透视时间、骨水泥注射量、骨水泥渗漏率、骨水泥弥散面积率和随访期间并发症发生情况，以及术前、术后 1 d、末次随访时 VAS 评分、ODI、伤椎前缘高度、后凸 Cobb 角。 结果两组患者均获随访，随访时间 12～36 个月，平均 24.2 个月。Vesselplasty 组手术时间、术中透视时间、骨水泥注射量、骨水泥弥散面积率均明显小于 PKP 组（P<0.05）。Vesselplasty 组骨水泥渗漏率（7.14%）明显低于 PKP 组（34.29%）（χ²=5.153，P=0.023）。两组患者术后 1 d 及末次随访时 VAS 评分、ODI、伤椎前缘高度、后凸 Cobb 角均较术前显著改善（P<0.05），术后两组间比较差异均无统计学意义（P>0.05）。随访期间两组均未见术椎再塌陷，Vesselplasty 组邻椎骨折发生率（7.14%）与 PKP 组（14.29%）比较，差异无统计学意义（χ²=0.243，P=0.622）。 结论Vesselplasty 和 PKP 治疗 Kümmell 病疗效相似，均能有效缓解患者疼痛症状，改善生活质量，部分恢复伤椎高度，矫正椎体后凸。但前者具有手术时间短、术中透视时间少、骨水泥渗漏少等优势。     

利用耳甲腔型小耳畸形残耳皮瓣及软骨改善再造耳颅耳沟效果观察

目的探讨对先天性耳甲腔型小耳畸形患者行全扩张法全耳再造术后，利用残耳皮瓣改善再造耳颅耳沟的效果。方法回顾分析 2012 年 1 月—2017 年 1 月收治的 150 例先天性耳甲腔型小耳畸形患者。其中男 92 例，女 58 例；年龄 6.5～35.0 岁，平均 11.1 岁。采用一期扩张器埋置、二期全扩张法全耳再造术后发现上部颅耳沟浅显；于 6～12 个月后行三期再造耳修整。将残耳垂通过“Z”字改型转移以再造耳垂。在残耳上部作蒂在轮屏切迹的残耳上部皮瓣，弧形切开松解并加深上部颅耳沟，将上部残耳皮瓣向颅耳沟创面旋转推进缝合以覆盖创面；将带皮下组织蒂的残耳软骨组织瓣插入支架底部形成的腔隙内，并缝合固定，以增加支架的高度；耳甲腔区其余残耳皮瓣用以覆盖耳甲腔创面。结果术后拆线时 1 例患儿皮瓣远端出现直径约 0.5 cm 的表皮水疱，经换药 2 周后愈合；其余患者皮瓣成活良好。患者均获随访，随访时间 6～12 个月，平均 9.6 个月。再造耳上部颅耳沟均明显加深，再造耳支架高度不同程度增加，双耳对称性佳，耳甲腔无明显挛缩变小，再造耳外观满意。再造耳上部表面毛发明显减少，耳周发际线上移。结论采用耳甲腔型小耳畸形的残耳皮瓣及残耳软骨瓣转移，不仅可加深颅耳沟，而且可增加上部支架的高度，术后颅耳沟变形较轻，再造耳与正常耳廓的对称性更佳。     

A DNA vaccine expressing an optimized secreted FAPα induces enhanced anti-tumor activity by altering the tumor microenvironment in a murine model of breast cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), major components of the tumor microenvironment (TME), promote tumor growth and metastasis and inhibit the anti-tumor immune response. We previously constructed a DNA vaccine expressing human FAPα, which is highly expressed by CAFs, to target these cells in the TME, and observed limited anti-tumor effects in the 4T1 breast cancer model. When the treatment time was delayed until tumor nodes formed, the anti-tumor effect of the vaccine completely disappeared. In this study, to improve the safety and efficacy, we constructed a new FAPα-targeted vaccine containing only the extracellular domain of human FAPα with a tissue plasminogen activator signal sequence for enhanced antigen secretion and immunogenicity. The number of CAFs was more effectively reduced by CD8⁺ T cells induced by the new vaccine. This resulted in decreases in CCL2 and CXCL12 expression, leading to a significant decrease in the ratio of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the TME. Moreover, when mice were treated after the establishment of tumors, the vaccine could still delay tumor growth. To facilitate the future application of the vaccine in clinical trials, we further optimized the gene codons and reduced the homology between the vaccine and the original sequence, which may be convenient for evaluating the vaccine distribution in the human body. These results indicated that the new FAPα-targeted vaccine expressing an optimized secreted human FAPα induced enhanced anti-tumor activity by reducing the number of FAPα⁺ CAFs and enhancing the recruitment of effector T cells in the 4T1 tumor model mice.