慢性非细菌性前列腺炎/慢性骨盆疼痛综合征患者的尿动力学检查

目的:探讨尿动力学检查在了解慢性非细菌性前列腺炎/慢性骨盆疼痛综合征(Chronicabacterialprostatitis/chronicpelvicpain syndrome,CPPS)患者中下尿路症状(LUTS)产生原因的作用。方法:对36例难治性慢性前列腺炎/盆腔疼痛综合征患者行尿流动力学压力-流率测定,同步测定膀胱压、逼尿肌压、同步肌电图测定,了解其症状产生的原因。结果:36例患者中,尿动力学证实膀胱出口梗阻14例(39%);逼尿肌过度活动者8例,其中有7例与BOO同时存在;假性逼尿肌尿道外括约肌协同失调6例(16.7%);逼尿肌收缩力低下者5例(13.9%)。结论:对难治性CPPS患者进行尿动力学检查有助于对此类患者LUTS产生的原因进行鉴别,从而可以采取有针对性的治疗。     

Association of mitochondrial haplogroup D and risk of esophageal cancer in Taihang Mountain and Chaoshan areas in China

Both the Taihang Mountain area in north-central China and Chaoshan area in the southeastern littoral of China are areas with high risk of esophageal cancer (EC). Our previous study confirmed that populations from the two areas might share similar matrilineal backgrounds and found that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup D, especially subhaplogroups D4a and D5a, might be genetic background markers of EC in Chaoshan area. Here, to further determine whether D4a, D5a, and D might be susceptibility markers for EC in the two high-risk areas, we performed a case–control study with larger samples and analyzed the distributions of these three haplogroups in subjects (controls [n = 898] and patients [n = 768]) from the two areas. D4a haplogroup was significantly associated with increased risk of EC in Taihang Mountain subjects, especially women. D5 haplogroup was associated with EC at the general population level in the Taihang Mountain area and in subjects ≤ 60 years, especially women ≤ 60 years, in the Chaoshan area. D haplogroup was associated with EC only in subjects ≤ 60 years, especially men ≤ 60 years, in the Chaoshan area. D4a and D5 showing positive association with EC in the Taihang Mountain area became the predominant subhaplogroups of D in Chaoshan controls. In conclusion, D, D4a, and D5 haplogroups might be susceptibility markers for EC in the two high-risk areas in China, particularly D4a and D5 for the Taihang Mountain area and D and D5 for the Chaoshan area.     

Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19

This paper aimed to analyze antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in various populations. Two hundred and six COVID-19 patients, 46 convalescent patients, and 270 healthy population were enrolled. Antibodies against nucleocapsid protein (N) and spike protein's receptor-binding domain (RBD), and neutralizing antibody were detected. The results demonstrated both anti-N and anti-RBD antibodies could be detected in about 80% of COVID-19 patients and 90% of convalescent patients, while no antibodies could be detected in some convalescents and patients even after 14 days post-onset of symptoms. The level of anti-RBD antibody strongly correlated with the neutralizing activity of sera from these two cohorts. The titer of neutralizing antibody was lower in convalescents than that in active COVID-19 patients. In addition, the titer of neutralizing antibody was less than 1:80 in none of the severe COVID-19 patients, 18.8% in non-severe COVID-19 patients, and 32.6% in convalescents. The study suggests that the level of anti-RBD antibody is closely related to neutralization activity in COVID-19 patients and convalescents. Some SARS-CoV-2-infected cases trigger a weak antiviral immune response, and the level of neutralizing antibody may have a faster decay rate.     

Circular RNA circDVL1 inhibits clear cell renal cell carcinoma progression through the miR-412-3p/PCDH7 axis

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a primary kidney cancer with high aggressive phenotype and extremely poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play pivotal roles in the occurrence and development of various human cancers. However, the expression, clinical significance and regulatory role of circRNAs in ccRCC remain largely unclear. Here we report that circDVL1 to be reduced in the serums and tissues from ccRCC patients, and to negatively correlate with ccRCC malignant features. Overexpression of circDVL1 inhibits proliferation, induces G1/S arrest, triggers apoptosis, and reduces migration and invasion in different ccRCC cells in vitro. Correspondingly, circDVL1 overexpression suppresses ccRCC tumorigenicity in a mouse xenograft model. Mechanistically, circDVL1 serves as a sponge for oncogenic miR-412-3p, thereby preventing miR-412-3p-mediated repression of its target protocadherin 7 (PCDH7) in ccRCC cells. Collectively, our results demonstrate that circDVL1 exerts tumor-suppressive function during ccRCC progression through circDVL1/miR-412-3p/PCDH7 axis, and suggest that circDVL1 could be a novel diagnostic and prognositc marker and therapeutic target for ccRCC.     

A role for Rho kinase in vascular contraction evoked by sodium fluoride

Agonist and depolarization-induced vascular smooth muscle contractions involve the activation of Rho-kinase pathway. However, there are no reports addressing the question whether this pathway is involved in NaF-induced vascular contractions. We hypothesized that Rho-kinase plays a role in vascular contraction evoked by sodium fluoride in rat aortae. In both physiological salt solution and calcium-free solution with 2 mM EGTA, cumulative addition of NaF increased vascular tension in concentration-dependent manners. Effects of Rho-kinase inhibitor (Y27632) on phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC20) and myosin targeting subunit (MYPT1(Thr696)) of myosin light chain phosphatase as well as NaF-induced contractions were determined using isolated tissue and the Western blot experiments. Y27632 inhibited NaF-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. NaF increased phosphorylation of MLC20 and MYPT1(Thr696), which were also inhibited by Y27632. However, MLCK inhibitor (ML-7) or PKC inhibitor (Ro31-8220) did not inhibit the NaF-induced contraction. These results indicate that activation of Rho-kinase and the subsequent phosphorylation of MYPT1(Thr696) play important roles in NaF-induced contraction of rat aortae.     

Efficient assembly of a large fragment of monkeypox virus genome as a qPCR template using dual-selection based transformation-associated recombination

Transformation-associated recombination (TAR) has been widely used to assemble large DNA constructs. One of the significant obstacles hindering assembly efficiency is the presence of error-prone DNA repair pathways in yeast, which results in vector backbone recircularization or illegitimate recombination products. To increase TAR assembly efficiency, we prepared a dual-selective TAR vector, pGFCS, by adding a P_ADH1-URA3 cassette to a previously described yeast-bacteria shuttle vector, pGF, harboring a P_HIS3-HIS3 cassette as a positive selection marker. This new cassette works as a negative selection marker to ensure that yeast harboring a recircularized vector cannot propagate in the presence of 5-fluoroorotic acid. To prevent pGFCS bearing ura3 from recombining with endogenous ura3-52 in the yeast genome, a highly transformable Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain, VL6-48B, was prepared by chromosomal substitution of ura3-52 with a transgene conferring resistance to blasticidin. A 55-kb genomic fragment of monkeypox virus encompassing primary detection targets for quantitative PCR was assembled by TAR using pGFCS in VL6-48B. The pGFCS-mediated TAR assembly showed a zero rate of vector recircularization and an average correct assembly yield of 79% indicating that the dual-selection strategy provides an efficient approach to optimizing TAR assembly.     

The association of CLOCK gene T3111C polymorphism and hPER3 gene 54-nucleotide repeat polymorphism with Chinese Han people schizophrenics

Many reports have shown that the biologic rhythm could be altered due to mutations of circadian gene hClock or hPeriod, and the mutations of circadian genes have some relationship with psychosis according to recent studies. A preliminary study has been conducted to examine wether the T3111C single nucleotide polymorphism of the hClock gene or the length polymorphism of the hPer3 gene is associated with the development of schizophrenia. The samples from schizophrenics (n = 148, male: 57.4%, female: 42.6%) and normal controls (n = 199, male: 59.3%, female: 40.7%) were examined. Allele frequencies of T3111C SNP of hClock were significantly different between schizophrenics and controls (χ² = 19.738, P < 0.05). Schizophrenics had a significantly higher frequency of the C allele compared with controls (OR = 2.613, 95% CI = 1.693–4.034). On the other hand, there is no significant difference of allele frequencies of 18 exon of hper3 between schizophrenics and controls (χ² = 0.192, P > 0.05). Our results suggest that the T3111C (RS1801260) polymorphism of hClock gene is associated with schizophrenia, but it seems that the length polymorphism of 18 exon of hPer3 may not be associated with schizophrenia. It is important to address of the relationship between circadian gene polymorphisms and dopamine functions in further study.