Endometriotic cyst fluid induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human immortalized epithelial cells derived from ovarian endometrioma

Objectives: Endometriotic cyst fluid (ECF) contains a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and endometriotic cysts are exposed to strong oxidative stress, which may cause malignant transformation. In this study, ROS production by ECF was clinically analysed.

Methods: Human immortalized epithelial cells derived from ovarian endometrioma (EMosis-CC/TERT 1) were treated with ECF. In addition, ROS production in EMosis-CC/TERT 1 was measured, and its clinical significance was analysed.

Results: A total of 38 ECF samples were obtained from patients diagnosed with endometriotic cysts. In EMosis-CC/TERT1, significantly higher levels of ROS were induced by ECF than by the vehicle control and ferric nitrilotriacetate. There were no significant differences in ROS production by laterality and preoperative serum CA125 values. There were several patients whose cyst sizes were approximately 5?cm and had relatively high ROS production. Production of ROS by ECF was relatively higher in patients older than 40 years of age than in those younger than 40.

Discussion: Our study revealed that ROS are highly produced by ECF in EMosis-CC/TERT1 cells; therefore, exposure to ECF induced strong oxidative stress. Development of a therapeutic strategy to reduce ROS production might be useful for preventing malignant transformation of endometriotic cysts.     

Characterization of a Synechocystis sp. from Egypt with the potential of bioactive compounds production

A polyphasic approach was employed to describe a unicellular coccoid cyanobacterium isolated from Terraat El Khashab, Helwan, Egypt. The cells were characterised by their small diameter (1.9–2.2 μm) and lack of buoyancy. The cultures grew best at a temperature range of 20–40°C and moderate light intensity (20–50 μmol photon m⁻² s⁻¹). To verify its cyanobacterial nature, sequencing of 16S rRNA gene using cyanobacterial specific primers was performed followed by a phylogenetic analysis. The sequence best-matched Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 with 90% similarity. The phylogenetic analysis placed the isolate within a major clade containing different Synechocystis isolates. The fatty acid composition was rich in saturated fatty acids while polyunsaturated fatty acids were scarce. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavenoids, alkaloids and saponins and absence of tannins. Vitamin C was also present in a considerable quantity. Some of the lipophilic fractions showed antimicrobial bioactivity against several pathogens. The pure bioactive compound from highest bioactive fraction was identified as oleic acid amide (M.wt.281) using chemical analyses including FT/IR, UV, proton H-NMR and GC-mass. The study highlights the importance of investigating the biotechnological potential of microorganisms inhabiting unusual niches.     

LTA4H Genotype Is Associated with Susceptibility to Bacterial Meningitis but Is Not a Critical Determinant of Outcome

Adjunctive dexamethasone saves lives in the treatment of tuberculous meningitis but this response is influenced by the patient’s LTA4H genotype. Despite less certain benefit, adjunctive dexamethasone is also frequently used in the treatment of pyogenic bacterial meningitis, but the influence of LTA4H genotype on outcomes has not been previously investigated. We genotyped the LTA4H promoter region SNP (rs17525495) in 390 bacterial meningitis patients and 751 population controls. rs17525495 was associated with susceptibility to bacteriologically confirmed bacterial meningitis (P = 0.01, OR 1.27 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05–1.54) but did not influence clinical presentation, disease severity or survival following dexamethasone treatment.     

青春双歧杆菌及其酸乳剂型研制

本文报告自母乳养喂儿粪便中分离出1株青春双歧杆菌,经鉴定确证并通过动物实验证明无毒后用作酸乳活菌制剂(简称回春酸乳),应用于临床疗效显著。其特点是:1.本菌株经数次传代耐氧筛选和驯化,逐渐变为耐氧型菌株,作为母种按乳酸菌制作酸奶的常规方法,用作发酵剂,为回春酸乳生产提供耐氧菌种,2.用本菌株发酵制成的回春酸乳对伤寒沙门氏菌、福氏痢疾杆菌等肠道致病菌有较强的抑菌作用。其抑菌滴度高达1:512以上;3.用本菌株作成的回春酸乳,经营养成分分析,其十七种氨基酸和维生素B_2含量均高于普通乳酸杆菌发酵的酸乳;4.回春酸乳临床应用疗效显著。     

A newly constructed Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system revealed the influence of nitrogen sources on the function of the LaeA regulator in Penicillium chrysogenum

Penicillium chrysogenum is not only an industrially important filamentous fungus for penicillin production, but it also represents as a promising cell factory for production of natural products. Development of efficient transformation systems with suitable selection markers is essential for genetic manipulations in P. chrysogenum. In this study, we have constructed a new and efficient Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system with two different selection markers conferring the resistance to nourseothricin and phleomycin for P. chrysogenum. Under the optimized conditions for co-cultivation at 22 °C for 60 h with acetosyringone concentration of 200 μM, the transformation efficiency of the ATMT system could reach 5009 ± 96 transformants per 10⁶ spores. The obtained transformants could be exploited as the T-DNA insertion mutants for screening genes involved in morphogenesis and secondary metabolism. Especially, the constructed ATMT system was applied successfully to generate a knockout mutant of the laeA regulatory gene and relevant complementation strains in a wild strain of P. chrysogenum. Our results indicated that the LaeA regulator controls growth, sporulation, osmotic stress response and antibiotic production in P. chrysogenum, but its function is reliant on nitrogen sources. Furthermore, we showed that the laeA orthologous genes from the citrus postharvest pathogen P. digitatum and from the industrial fungus Aspergillus niger could recover the phenotypic defects in the P. chrysogenum laeA deletion mutant. Conclusively, this work provides a new ATMT system, which can be employed for T-DNA insertional mutagenesis, heterologous gene expression or for molecular inspections of potential genes related to secondary metabolism in P. chrysogenum.     

ARTP mutation and genome shuffling of ABE fermentation symbiotic system for improvement of butanol production

Butanol is an ideal renewable biofuel which possesses superior fuel properties. Previously, butanol-producing symbiotic system TSH06 was isolated in our lab, with microoxygen tolerance ability. To boost butanol yield for large-scale industrial production, TSH06 was used as parental strain and subjected to atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) and four rounds of genome shuffling (GS). ARTP mutant and GS strain were co-cultured with facultative anaerobic Bacillus cereus TSH2 to form a symbiotic system with microoxygen tolerance, which was then subjected to fermentation. Relative messenger RNA (mRNA) level of key enzyme gene was measured by real-time PCR. The highest butanol titer of TS4-30 reached 15.63 g/L, which was 34% higher than TSH06 (12.19 g/L). Compared with parental strain, mRNA of acid-forming gene in TS4-30 decreased in acidogenesis phase, while solvent-forming gene increased in solventogenesis phase. This gene expression pattern was consistent with high butanol yield and low acid level in TS4-30. In summary, symbiotic system TS4-30 was obtained with butanol titer improvement and microoxygen tolerance.

     

Fine needle aspiration biopsy of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma developing from a Hürthle cell tumor: a case report

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is a highly malignant tumor in elderly people with a long history of multinodular goiter and is usually associated with a rapidly fatal clinical evolution. The tumor often develops as a result of anaplastic transformation of a slowly growing papillary carcinoma or follicular neoplasm. CASE: An 85-year-old woman had a multinodular goiter and had been asymptomatic, with a normal white blood cell count and chest radiograph three months prior to her hospital admission for the treatment. The tumor presented with low grade fever, leukocytosis, multiple metastatic lung nodules and enlargement of the intrathoracic thyroid in a period of three months, causing compression of the esophagus and trachea. Despite a total thyroidectomy, the tumor recurred within one month and caused dysphagia and death. CONCLUSION: FNAB permitted the diagnosis of an anaplastic thyroid carcinoma arising from an intrathoracic Hürthle cell tumor.     

Efficacy of a Six-Month versus a 36-Month Regimen for Prevention of Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Persons in India: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background

The optimal duration of preventive therapy for tuberculosis (TB) among HIV-infected persons in TB-endemic countries is unknown.

Methods

An open-label randomized clinical trial was performed and analyzed for equivalence. Seven hundred and twelve HIV-infected, ART-naïve patients without active TB were randomized to receive either ethambutol 800 mg and isoniazid 300 mg daily for six-months (6EH) or isoniazid 300 mg daily for 36-months (36H). Drugs were dispensed fortnightly and adherence checked by home visits. Patients had chest radiograph, sputum smear and culture performed every six months, in addition to investigations if they developed symptoms. The primary endpoint was incident TB while secondary endpoints were all-cause mortality and adverse events. Survival analysis was performed on the modified intent to treat population (m-ITT) and rates compared.

Findings

Tuberculosis developed in 22 (6.4%) of 344 subjects in the 6EH arm and 13 (3.8%) of 339 subjects in the 36H arm with incidence rates of 2.4/100py (95%CI- 1.4–3.5) and 1.6/100py (95% CI-0.8–3.0) with an adjusted rate ratio (aIRR) of 1.6 (0.8–3.2). Among TST-positive subjects, the aIRR of 6EH was 1.7 (0.6–4.3) compared to 36H, p = 0.8. All-cause mortality and toxicity were similar in the two arms. Among 15 patients with confirmed TB, 4 isolates were resistant to isoniazid and 2 were multidrug-resistant.

Interpretation

Both regimens were similarly effective in preventing TB, when compared to historical incidence rates. However, there was a trend to lower TB incidence with 36H. There was no increase in isoniazid resistance compared to the expected rate in HIV-infected patients.The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00351702","term_id":"NCT00351702"}}NCT00351702.