Flexible Bronchoscopy with Multiple Modalities for Foreign Body Removal in Adults

Objectives

Aspiration of the lower airways due to foreign body is rare in adults. This study aimed to determine the outcome of patients who received flexible bronchoscopy with different modalities for foreign body removal in the lower airways.

Patients and Methods

Between January 2003 and January 2014, 94 patients diagnosed with foreign body in the lower airways underwent flexible bronchoscopy with different modalities, which included forceps, loop, basket, knife, electromagnet, and cryotherapy. The clinical presentation, foreign body location and characteristics, and applications of flexible bronchoscopy were analyzed.

Results

Forty (43%) patients had acute aspiration, which developed within one week of foreign body entry and 54 (57%) had chronic aspiration. The most common foreign bodies were teeth or bone. More patients with chronic aspiration than those with acute aspiration were referred from the out-patient clinic (48% vs. 28%), but more patients with acute aspiration were referred from the emergency room (35% vs. 6%) and intensive care unit (18% vs. 2%). Flexible bronchoscopy with different modalities was used to remove the foreign bodies (85/94, 90%). Electromagnet or cryotherapy was used in nine patients to eliminate the surrounding granulation tissue before foreign body removal. In the nine patients with failed flexible bronchoscopy, eight underwent rigid bronchoscopy instead and one had right lower lung lobectomy for lung abscess.

Conclusions

Flexible bronchoscopy with multiple modalities is effective for diagnosing and removing foreign bodies in the lower respiratory airways in adults, with a high success rate (90%) and no difference between acute and chronic aspirations.     

Discovery of core gene families associated with liver metastasis in colorectal cancer and regulatory roles in tumor cell immune infiltration

In this study, we aimed to uncover genes that drive the pathogenesis of liver metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC), and identify effective genes that could serve as potential therapeutic targets for treating with colorectal liver metastasis patients based on two GEO datasets. Several bioinformatics approaches were implemented. First, differential expression analysis screened out key differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across the two GEO datasets. Based on gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, we identified the enrichment functions and pathways of the DEGs that were associated with liver metastasis in CRC. Second, immune infiltration analysis identified key immune signature gene sets associated with CRC liver metastasis, among which two key immune gene families (CD and CCL) identified as key DEGs were filtered by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Some of the members in these gene families were associated with disease free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS) in two subtypes of CRC, namely COAD and READ. Finally, functional enrichment analysis of the two gene families and their neighboring genes revealed that they were closely associated with cytokine, leukocyte proliferation and chemotaxis. These results are valuable in comprehending the pathogenesis of liver metastasis in CRC, and are of seminal importance in understanding the role of immune tumor infiltration in CRC. Our study also identified potentially effective therapeutic targets for liver metastasis in CRC including CCL20, CCL24 and CD70.     

Mutational Analysis of the Terminal Protein Tpg of Streptomyces Chromosomes: Identification of the Deoxynucleotidylation Site

The linear chromosomes and linear plasmids of Streptomyces are capped by terminal proteins (TPs) covalently bound to the 5′ ends of the DNA. The TPs serve as primers for DNA synthesis that patches in the single-stranded gaps at the telomeres resulting from the bi-directional replication (‘end patching’). Typical Streptomyces TPs, designated Tpgs, are conserved in sequence and size (about 185 amino acids), and contain a predicted helix-turn-helix domain and a functional nuclear localization signal. The Tpg-encoding gene (tpg) is often accompanied by an upstream gene tap that encodes an essential telomere-associating protein. Five lone tpg variants (not accompanied by tap) from various Streptomyces species were tested, and three were found to be pseudogenes. The lone tpg variant on the SLP2 plasmid, although functional, still requires the presence of tap on the chromosome for end patching. Using a combination of in vitro deoxynucleotidylation, physical localization, and genetic analysis, we identified the threonine at position 114 (T114) in Tpg of Streptomyces lividans chromosome as the deoxynucleotidylated site. Interestingly, T114 could be substituted by a serine without destroying the priming activity of Tpg in vitro and in vivo. Such T114S substitution is seen in and a number of pseudogenes as well as functional Tpgs. T114 lies in a predicted coil flanked by two short helixes in a highly hydrophilic region. The location and structural arrangement of the deoxynucleotidylated site in Tpg is similar to those in the TPs of phage ø 29 and adenoviruses. However, these TPs are distinct in their sequences and sizes, indicating that they have evolved independently during evolution. Using naturally occurring and artificially created tpg variants, we further identified several amino acid residues in the N-terminus and the helix-turn-helix domain that were important for functionality.     

G-quadruplex DNAzyme-based Hg2+ and cysteine sensors utilizing Hg2+-mediated oligonucleotide switching

A simple and sensitive colorimetric Hg(2+) detection method is reported, based on the Hg(2+)-mediated structural switch of an unlabeled oligonucleotide strand. In the absence of Hg(2+), the oligonucleotide strand forms a stem-loop. A G-rich sequence in the strand is partially caged in the stem-loop structure and cannot fold into a G-quadruplex. In the presence of Hg(2+), T-Hg(2+)-T coordination chemistry leads to the formation of another stem-loop structure and the release of the G-rich sequence. The released sequence folds into a G-quadruplex, which binds hemin to form catalytically active G-quadruplex DNAzymes. This is detected as an absorbance increase in a H(2)O(2)-2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiozoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) reaction system using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. This simple colorimetric sensor can detect aqueous Hg(2+) at concentrations as low as 9.2 nM with high selectivity. Based on the strong binding interaction between Hg(2+) and the sulfur-containing amino acid cysteine (Cys), and the competition between Cys and a oligonucleotide for Hg(2+), the proposed Hg(2+)-sensing system can be further exploited as a Cys-sensing method. The method has a detection limit for Cys of 19 nM.     

Passage number affects the pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells as judged by tetraploid embryo aggregation

The aim of this study was to determine whether the number of passages affected the developmental pluripotency of embryonic stem (ES) cells as measured by the attainment of adult fertile mice derived from embryonic stem (ES) cell/tetraploid embryo complementation. Thirty-six newborns were produced by the aggregation of tetraploid embryos and hybrid ES cells after various numbers of passages. These newborns were entirely derived from ES cells as judged by microsatellite DNA, coat-color phenotype, and germline transmission. Although 15 survived to adulthood, 17 died of respiratory failure, and four were eaten by their foster mother. From the 15 mice that reached adulthood and that could reproduce, none arose from ES cells at passage level 15 or more. All 15 arose from cells at passages 3–11. Our results demonstrate that the number of passages affects the developmental pluripotency of ES cells. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 30571336) and the President Foundation of the Agricultural University of Hebei.     

黄绿卷毛菇水提物对糖尿病大鼠机体抗氧化及抗炎作用初探

氧化应激被认为是糖尿病、肿瘤、肝病等多种疾病发生的一个关键危险因素。通过抗氧化剂阻断或延缓氧化反应和炎症过程,有望成为预防或治疗糖尿病的一种有效的干预手段。黄绿卷毛菇Floccularia luteovirens又名黄绿蜜环菌,是青藏高原特有的一种稀有珍贵的食药用菌,其子实体具有抗肿瘤、抗炎、抗氧化等诸多药理作用。在本研究中,我们初步探究了黄绿卷毛菇水提物（water extract of Floccularia luteoviren,FLW）对Ⅱ型糖尿病大鼠机体抗氧化和抗炎作用。二甲双胍及FLW连续灌胃给药8周,结果表明,FLW可以促进外源性葡萄糖的消耗,明显改善糖尿病大鼠的口服糖耐量;显著提高血清中SOD水平,显著降低血清中MDA及炎症因子IL-1β、TNF-α、IL-6的释放。综上所述,FLW表现出较强的抗氧化和抗炎活性,对Ⅱ型糖尿病大鼠机体氧化应激和炎症具有良好的改善作用。     

响应面法优化黄绿卷毛菇子实体多糖的提取工艺及其体外抗氧化活性研究

以采自四川石渠的黄绿卷毛菇Floccularia luteovirens为研究对象,采用水提醇沉的经典方法以及单因素试验,并利用Box-Benhnken Design（BBD）中心组合试验设计原理,以提取温度、时间以及料液比3个影响因素作为自变量,多糖提取率为考察指标,设计3因素3水平的响应面试验,优化黄绿卷毛菇子实体多糖（FLPs）的提取工艺,并通过?OH和O₂ ^-?自由基清除能力考察FLPs的抗氧化能力。最终确定最优水提工艺为提取温度89.31℃,提取时间5.08h,料液比1:48.54（g/mL）,且FLPs具有良好的?OH和O₂ ^-?自由基清除能力,具有较强的体外抗氧化活性。同时,验证试验证明了该设计方法和模型的准确性和可行性,且在该工艺条件下,多糖提取率有所提高,可为其多糖功能性食品和药品的开发提供理论依据。     

Endobronchial Mucosa Invasion Predicts Survival in Patients with Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background

Current staging system for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) categorizes patients into limited- or extensive-stage disease groups according to anatomical localizations. Even so, a wide-range of survival times has been observed among patients in the same staging system. This study aimed to identify whether endobronchial mucosa invasion is an independent predictor for poor survival in patients with SCLC, and to compare the survival time between patients with and without endobronchial mucosa invasion.

Methods

We studied 432 consecutive patients with SCLC based on histological examination of biopsy specimens or on fine-needle aspiration cytology, and received computed tomography and bone scan for staging. All the enrolled patients were assessed for endobronchial mucosa invasion by bronchoscopic and histological examination. Survival days were compared between patients with or without endobronchial mucosa invasion and the predictors of decreased survival days were investigated.

Results

84% (364/432) of SCLC patients had endobronchial mucosal invasion by cancer cells at initial diagnosis. Endobronchial mucosal involvement (Hazard ratio [HR], 2.01; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.30–3.10), age (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.03–1.06), and extensive stage (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.06–1.84) were independent contributing factors for shorter survival time, while received chemotherapy (HR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.25–0.42) was an independent contributing factor better outcome. The survival days of SCLC patients with endobronchial involvement were markedly decreased compared with patients without (median 145 vs. 290, p<0.0001). Among SCLC patients of either limited (median 180 vs. 460, p<0.0001) or extensive (median 125 vs. 207, p<0.0001) stages, the median survival duration for patients with endobronchial mucosal invasion was shorter than those with intact endobronchial mucosa, respectively.

Conclusion

Endobronchial mucosal involvement is an independent prognostic factor for SCLC patients and associated with decreased survival days.     

Functional protein microarray: an ideal platform for investigating protein binding property

Functional protein microarray is an important tool for high-throughput and large-scale systems biology studies.Besides the progresses that have been made for protein microarray fabrication,significant ...     

TMV-番茄互作中的系统性PCD反应

以往研究证实超敏反应(HR)中的细胞程序化死亡(PCD)是植物对病毒的有效防御手段. 但目前对系统获得性抗性反应(SAR)中的PCD至今还知之甚少. 通过烟草花叶病毒(tobacco mosaic virus, TMV)-番茄(Lycopersicon esculentum)互作系统, 发现TMV的局部侵染能够诱导番茄非接种部位的细胞死亡, 但这些部位的酶联免疫吸附实验(ELISA)中未发现有病毒; 且发生死亡的细胞都表现以下的生物学及分子学特征：染色质浓缩, 形成团块, 并于细胞核边缘分布; 细胞核的TUNEL检测呈阳性; DNA ladder检测出现梯状条带; 线粒体和叶绿体结构破毁; 液泡膜和质膜发生收缩和降解等. 结果说明 TMV对番茄叶片的局部性侵染, 在病毒不发生扩散的情况下, 能引起根尖、茎尖和非接种叶片中的系统性PCD反应, 上述组织中的这种反应在发生时间与同步性上不同, 且在诱发原因和表现形式上与HR-PCD和SAR存在差异.