Epidemiological,Clinical and Serological Characteristics of Children with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Wuhan: A Single-centered,Retrospective Study

In December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the samples obtained from three adult patients who suffered from an unknown viral pneumonia in Wuhan (Li et al. 2020). This unknown viral pneumonia is further named as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization. To date, the number of new COVID-19 cases has continued to skyrocket and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on humans is far greater than any pathogen of this century in both breadth and depth. Previous studies have shown that adults with COVID-19 have symptoms of fever, dry cough, dyspnea, fatigue and lymphocytopenia. Moreover, COVID-19 is more likely to cause death in the elderly, especially those with chronic comorbidities (Huang et al. 2020). In Wuhan, more than 50, 000 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, including over 780 pediatric patients, and only one child death case (Lu et al. 2020). Although the number of children cases was far fewer than that of adults, COVID-19 might endanger children's health and the information on children remains limited, especially in serological study. In the retrospective study, the investigators analyzed the epidemiological, clinical and serological characteristics of children with COVID-19 in Wuhan in the early stages of the outbreak, which might provide theoretical and practical help in controlling COVID-19 and similar emerging infectious diseases in the future.     

Nanopore sequencing of African swine fever virus

正Dear Editor,African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most pathogenic viral diseases in pigs caused by African swine fever virus(ASFV). The fatality rate is almost 100%, which brings huge economic losses to the hog industry in countries with epi-     

Distinct lung microbial community states in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

An improved understanding of the lung microbiome may lead to better strategies to diagnose, treat, and prevent pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB). However, the characteristics of the lung microbiomes of patients with TB remain largely undefined. In this study, 163 bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) samples were collected from 163 sputum-negative suspected PTB patients. Furthermore, 12 paired BAL samples were obtained from 12 Mycobacterium tuberculosis-positive(MTB+) patients before and after negative conversion following a two-month anti-TB treatment. The V3–V4 region of the 16 S ribosomal RNA(rRNA) gene was used to characterize the microbial composition of the lungs. The results showed that the prevalence of MTB in the BAL samples was 42.9%(70/163) among the sputum-negative patients. The α-diversity of lung microbiota was significantly less diverse in MTB+ patients compared with Mycobacterium tuberculosis-negative(MTB–) patients. There was a significant difference in β-diversity between MTB+ and MTB– patients. MTB+ patients were enriched with Anoxybacillus, while MTB– patients were enriched with Prevotella, Alloprevotella, Veillonella, and Gemella. There was no significant difference between the Anoxybacillus detection rates of MTB+ and MTB– patients. The paired comparison between the BAL samples from MTB+ patients and their negative conversion showed that BAL negative-conversion microbiota had a higher α-diversity. In conclusion, distinct features of airway microbiota could be identified between samples from patients with and without MTB. Our results imply links between lung microbiota and different clinical groups of active PTB.     

绵马贯众多糖超声提取工艺优化及抗氧化活性分析

绵马贯众是中国传统常用中药,本研究以温度、时间、超声功率、液料比为影响因子,多糖得率为评价指标,通过响应面法优化超声辅助提取绵马贯众多糖的工艺条件,同时测定其基本理化性质及抗氧化活性。研究结果表明,绵马贯众多糖的最佳提取工艺条件为:温度64℃、时间60 min、超声功率210 W、液料比27 mL/g。此时多糖得率为9.57%,与预测值接近。理化性质分析表明绵马贯众多糖为含少量蛋白的酸性多糖。体外抗氧化研究表明绵马贯众多糖具有很强的DPPH自由基清除活性,IC50值为0.29 mg/mL;较好的羟基自由基清除活性,其IC50值为1.10 mg/mL;对DNA的氧化损伤有显著的保护作用。绵马贯众多糖可以作为一种潜在的抗氧化剂应用于食品和化妆品等领域。     

microRNA-21在食管癌细胞增殖、迁移和凋亡中的作用

本研究检测了40例食管癌组织和40例癌旁组织中的miR-21、PTEN、PI3K和AKT表达,并通过转染miR-21抑制剂来敲低人食管癌细胞系EC9706的miR-21表达,考察了miR-21对食管癌细胞生长的影响。研究发现,食管癌组织中PTEN蛋白的阳性染色评分低于癌旁组织(p<0.05),而PI3K和AKT蛋白的阳性染色评分高于癌旁组织(p<0.05)。miR-21在人食管癌组织中被上调(3.56 vs 1.21,p<0.05)。转染miR-21抑制剂导致PTEN蛋白表达升高,而PI3K和AKT蛋白表达降低(p<0.05)。转染miR-21抑制剂抑制了EC9706细胞的增殖和迁移,但促进了细胞凋亡(p<0.05)。miR-21的上调可通过激活PTEN/PI3K/AKT信号通路来促进食道癌细胞的增殖和迁移,并抑制细胞凋亡。     

Activation of the bitter taste sensor TRPM5 prevents high salt-induced cardiovascular dysfunction

Science China Life Sciences - High salt intake is a known risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. Our recent study demonstrated that long-term high salt intake impairs transient receptor potential...     

Polymorphism analysis and supertype definition of swine leukocyte antigen class I molecules in three-way crossbred (Landrace,Duroc, and Yorkshire) pigs: implications for the vaccine development of African swine fever virus

正Dear Editor,Swine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a highly polymorphic gene in pigs and is also called swine leukocyte antigen (SLA)(Fan et al., 2018). SLA is divided into three major categories, SLA Ⅰ (SLA-1,-2,-3), SLA Ⅱ, and SLA Ⅲ(Smith et al., 2005). SLA Ⅰ plays an important role in cellular immunity which can eliminate viruses and other foreign     

山羊不同组织器官的内参基因筛选

本研究通过比较9个内参基因在山羊不同组织中的表达水平进而确定最适合研究山羊组织表达的内参基因。本试验以简州大耳羊为试验材料,利用实时荧光定量PCR技术分析9个内参基因(GAPDH,PPIA,18S rRNA,PPIB,UXT,RPLP0,ACTB,EIF3K和TBP)在心脏、肝脏、脾脏、肺脏、肾脏、大肠、瘤胃、背最长肌和皮下脂肪等组织中的表达差异情况,并利用geNorm、NormFinder和BestKeeper等程序分析了它们的表达稳定性。geNorm和NormFinder程序一致显示TBP表达最稳定,其次是UXT和RPLP0;BestKeeper分析显示18S rRNA表达最为稳定,其次为TBP和ACTB;3个程序一致认为GAPDH表达稳定性最差。综合3个程序分析得出TBP最适合作为山羊组织中的内参基因,其次为UXT和RPLP0,GAPDH表达稳定性最差,不适合作为山羊组织内参,这为后续研究其他目的基因在山羊组织器官中的表达模式提供数据保障。     

The auxin-inducible phosphate transporter AsPT5 mediates phosphate transport and is indispensable for arbuscule formation in Chinese milk vetch at moderately high phosphate supply

Phosphorus is a macronutrient that is essential for plant survival. Most land plants have evolved the ability to form a mutualistic symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which enhances phosphate (Pi) acquisition. Modulation of Pi transporter systems is the master strategy used by mycorrhizal plants to adapt to ambient Pi concentrations. However, the specific functions of PHOSPHATE TRANSPORTER 1 (PHT1) genes, which are Pi transporters that are responsive to high Pi availability, are largely unknown. Here, we report that AsPT5, an Astragalus sinicus (Chinese milk vetch) member of the PHT1 gene family, is conserved across dicotyledons and is constitutively expressed in a broad range of tissues independently of Pi supply, but is remarkably induced by indole-3-acetic acid (auxin) treatment under moderately high Pi conditions. Subcellular localization experiments indicated that AsPT5 localizes to the plasma membrane of plant cells. Using reverse genetics, we showed that AsPT5 not only mediates Pi transport and remodels root system architecture but is also essential for arbuscule formation in A. sinicus under moderately high Pi concentrations. Overall, our study provides insight into the function of AsPT5 in Pi transport, AM development and the cross-talk between Pi nutrition and auxin signalling in mycorrhizal plants.