The landscape and prognostic value of immune characteristics in uterine corpus endometrial cancer

In the present study, we explored the clinical and immunological characteristics of 575 uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) samples obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) using the ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms. First, Kaplan–Meier and univariate Cox regression analyses indicated that the immune cell score was a prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS). Multivariate Cox regression analysis further revealed that the immune cell score was an independent prognostic factor for UCEC patients. Second, we investigated the correlation between the infiltration levels of 22 types of immune cells and the immune score. Survival analysis based on the 22 immune cell types showed that higher levels of regulatory T cell, activated NK cell, and follicular helper T-cell infiltration were associated with longer OS, while higher levels of CD8+ T cell and naive B-cell infiltration were associated with longer RFS. Next, we performed differential expression and prognosis analyses on 1534 immune-related genes and selected five from 14 candidate genes to construct a prognostic prediction model. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for 3- and 5-year survival were 0.711 and 0.728, respectively. Further validation using a stage I–II subgroup showed similar results, presenting AUC values for 3- and five-year survival of 0.677 and 0.692, respectively. Taken together, the present study provides not only a deeper understanding of the relationship between UCEC and the immune landscape but also guidance for the future development of UCEC immunotherapy.     

Assessment of risk factors for postoperative cognitive dysfunction after coronary artery bypass surgery: a single-center retrospective cohort study

Aim: To find out risk factors for postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and to provide basis for clinical prevention of POCD. A total of 88 patients who underwent CABG were surveyed with Telephone Questionnaire (TICS-M) for their cognitive impairment after 3, 7, 21, 90, 180 days post-surgery. The occurrence of POCD was diagnosed by Neuropsychological Battery which included Vocabular Learning Test (VLT), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Trail Making Test (TMT) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). The preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative risk factors were assessed by the χ² or t test. Multivariate analysis was used to study the correlation between the risk factors and the occurrence of POCD. Age, aortic plaque, carotid artery stenosis, cerebrovascular disease, anesthesia time, the rate of decline in intraoperative hemoglobin concentration (ΔHb) and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score on postoperative day 2 had statistically significant (P<0.05) influence on the occurrence of POCD. Aortic plaque, carotid artery stenosis, anesthesia time and SIRS score (odds ratio (OR) value > 1, P<0.05) are the risk factors for POCD. The incidence of day-21 and -180 POCD was approximately 26.1 and 22.7%, respectively.     

Root-Associated Endophytic Bacterial Community Composition of Asparagus officinalis of Three Different Varieties

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L) is an economically important crop, rich in nutrients, and is also conducive to solving ecological and environmental problems. Plants may acquire benefits from root-associated endophytic bacteria. However, the composition of the endophytic bacterial community associated with the roots of asparagus is poorly elucidated. In this study, the nine root samples of asparagus from three different varieties including Asparagus officinalis var. Grande (GLD), A. officinalis var. Jinglvlu3 (JL3) and A. officinalis var. Jingzilu2 (JZL) were investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology of the 16S rDNA V5-V7 hypervariable region of endophytic bacteria. A total of 16 phyla, 29 classes, 90 orders, 171 families, and 312 genera were identified. Endophytic bacteria diversity and bacteria structure was different among the three varieties and was influenced by rhizosphere soil properties and varieties. In the GLD variety, the main phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. The main phylum in JL3 and JZL varieties was Proteobacteria. The observations showed that GLD had the highest diversity of endophytes as indicated by the Shannon index (GLD > JZL > JL3). The order of the endophytes richness was GLD > JL3 > JZL. The PCA and PCoA analysis revealed the microbial communities were different between three different asparagus varieties, and the microbial composition of GLD and JZL was more similar. This report provides an important reference for the study of endophytic microorganisms of asparagus. Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1007/s12088-021-00926-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Screening and heterologous expression of flavone synthase and flavonol synthase to catalyze hesperetin to diosmetin

Biotechnology Letters - In this study, 44 flavone synthases (FNS) and flavonol synthases (FLS) from different origins were collected. The instability index and conserved domain of the enzymes were...     

宿主菌富集空肠弯曲菌噬菌体培养条件的优化

【背景】开发噬菌体产品是一种防控空肠弯曲菌有潜力的策略,但是面临噬菌体分离的挑战。【目的】运用响应面法对宿主菌富集空肠弯曲菌噬菌体的培养条件进行优化。【方法】通过单因素试验分析培养基、培养温度、培养转速、离子添加剂对噬菌体富集效果的影响,以噬菌体回收率为评价指标,采用响应面法优化了空肠弯曲菌噬菌体的富集培养条件。【结果】在37℃条件下进行静置培养时,噬菌体富集培养效果最佳,回收率为354.12%。分离噬菌体的过程包括采样并制备滤液、宿主菌与样品滤液共培养及噬菌体分离与鉴定等环节。应用此方法从鸡粪便中分离空肠弯曲菌噬菌体,与传统的单斑法相比,噬菌体分离率提高了269.23%。【结论】研究优化的宿主菌富集噬菌体培养方法可提高空肠弯曲菌噬菌体的分离效率,为噬菌体的研究提供思路。     

乳源耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌icaA/D基因缺失株的构建及其生物被膜形成能力与耐药性分析

【背景】耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus,MRSA)是一种具有多重耐药性的人畜共患病原菌,常引起奶牛乳房炎等疾病。形成生物被膜是MRSA重要的耐药机制之一。研究发现ica操纵子调控的胞间多糖黏附素(Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin,PIA)通过促进MRSA的黏附与聚集介导生物被膜形成,icaA和icaD基因共表达可显著提高MRSA的N-乙酰葡聚糖转移酶活性,但icaA/D蛋白对MRSA生物被膜形成和耐药性的影响仍不清楚。【目的】探讨icaA/D基因、MRSA生物被膜形成及耐药性三者之间的相关性,为寻找药物作用新靶点提供科学依据。【方法】以具有多重耐药性且生物被膜形成能力强的乳源MRSA M5分离株为研究对象,利用同源重组技术构建其icaA/D基因缺失株;利用FITC-ConA染色结合激光共聚焦显微镜观察野生株与icaA/D基因缺失株的生物被膜形成过程与能力;采用微量肉汤稀释法测定14种抗菌药物对野生株与icaA/D基因缺失株的最小抑菌浓度(MinimumInhibitoryConcentration,MIC)。【结果】构建了MRSA M5的icaA/D基因缺失株。激光共聚焦显微镜下观察到野生株在培养16 h后形成了一层厚的成熟生物被膜,随后开始解离,直至120 h完全解离;而icaA/D基因缺失株在培养后16 h仅形成一薄层生物被膜,48h完全解离。10种受试抗菌药物对缺失株的MIC较野生株减小,而且缺失株对8种药物的敏感性由原来的耐药或中介转变为中介或敏感。【结论】icaA/D基因缺失可明显降低MRSA的生物被膜形成能力与耐药性。     

云南蛋鸡源肠炎沙门氏菌的分离鉴定及生物学特性

【背景】肠炎沙门氏菌(Salmonella enteritidis)是一种重要的人畜共患病原菌,禽类的肉制品及蛋类是其重要的传播途径。【目的】确诊云南某蛋鸡场疑似沙门氏菌感染病原情况。【方法】无菌采集发病蛋鸡肝脏组织进行细菌分离培养鉴定,对获得的菌株进行耐药性分析、致病性实验及毒力基因的检测。【结果】鉴定该分离菌为肠炎沙门氏菌,其抗原结构式为:O抗原1(+)、9(+)、12(+),H抗原gm(+)、[1,7](+),将其命名为SSYN001株。药敏实验表明,该菌株对青霉素、复方新诺明、强力霉素和四环素4种药物耐药,对阿莫西林、氨苄西林、庆大霉素、妥布霉素和头孢他啶等8种抗菌药物敏感;耐药基因检测发现,该菌株含有四环素类耐药基因tetA;动物致病性试验显示,该菌对雏鸡、产蛋鸡及小鼠的致死率分别为40%、80%和100%;该菌检测出spvB、spiA、pagC、msgA、invA、sipB、prgH、spaN、tolC、iroN、sitC、lpfC、sifA、sopB和orgA这15种毒力基因。【结论】对云南蛋鸡源肠炎沙门氏菌的致病性和菌株提供了新的生物学信息数据,对食源性人畜共患沙门氏菌的检测具有重要的公共卫生学意义。