Psychological processes mediating the association between developmental trauma and specific psychotic symptoms in adults: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Experiencing psychological trauma during childhood and/or adolescence is associated with an increased risk of psychosis in adulthood. However, we lack a clear knowledge of how developmental trauma induces vulnerability to psychotic symptoms. Understanding the psychological processes involved in this association is crucial to the development of preventive interventions and improved treatments. We sought to systematically review the literature and combine findings using meta‐analytic techniques to establish the potential roles of psychological processes in the associations between developmental trauma and specific psychotic experiences (i.e., hallucinations, delusions and paranoia). Twenty‐two studies met our inclusion criteria. We found mediating roles of dissociation, emotional dysregulation and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (avoidance, numbing and hyperarousal) between developmental trauma and hallucinations. There was also evidence of a mediating role of negative schemata, i.e. mental constructs of meanings, between developmental trauma and delusions as well as paranoia. Many studies to date have been of poor quality, and the field is limited by mostly cross‐sectional research. Our findings suggest that there may be distinct psy­chological pathways from developmental trauma to psychotic phenomena in adulthood. Clinicians should carefully ask people with psychosis about their history of developmental trauma, and screen patients with such a history for dissociation, emotional dysregulation and PTSD symptoms. Well conducted research with prospective designs, including neurocognitive assessment, is required in order to fully understand the biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying the association between developmental trauma and psychosis.     

ARL4C might serve as a prognostic factor and a novel therapeutic target for gastric cancer: bioinformatics analyses and biological experiments

The ADP-ribosylation factor-like proteins (ARLs) have been proved to regulate the malignant phenotypes of several cancers. However, the exact role of ARLs in gastric cancer (GC) remains elusive. In this study, we systematically investigate the expression status, interactive relations, potential pathways, genetic variations and clinical values of ARLs in GC. We find that ARLs are significantly dysregulated in GC and involved in various cancer-related pathways. Subsequently, machine learning models identify ARL4C as one of the two most significant clinical indicators among ARLs for GC. Furthermore, ARL4C silencing remarkably inhibits the growth and metastasis of GC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, enrichment analysis indicates that ARL4C is highly correlated with TGF-β1 signalling. Correspondingly, TGF-β1 treatment dramatically increases ARL4C expression and ARL4C knockdown inhibits the phosphorylation level of Smads, downstream factors of TGF-β1. Meanwhile, the coexpression of ARL4C and TGF-β1 worsens the prognosis of GC patients. Our work comprehensively demonstrates the crucial role of ARLs in the carcinogenesis of GC and the specific mechanisms underlying the GC-promoting effects of TGF-β1. More importantly, we uncover the great promise of ARL4C-targeted therapy in improving the efficacy of TGF-β1 inhibitors for GC patients.     

多囊卵巢综合征患者与健康人群肠道菌群差异性分析

目的比较多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)患者与健康人群间肠道菌群的差异,为后续研究提供参考。方法采用16S rDNA扩增子测序法对30例PCOS患者(PCOS组)和20例健康人(健康组)粪便标本中菌群结构进行分析,并比较两组之间的区别。结果与健康组相比,PCOS组患者肠道菌群α多样性降低。PCOS组患者肠道厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)丰度高于健康组,拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)丰度低于健康组(均P0.05)。两组对象肠道梭菌门(Clostridia)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)丰度差异无统计学意义(均P0.05)。PCOS组患者肠道变形杆菌纲(Proteobacteria)、芽胞杆菌纲(Bacilli)、红椿杆菌纲(Coriobacteriia)丰度高于健康组,拟杆菌纲(Bacteroidia)丰度低于健康组(均P0.05)。PCOS组患者肠道布劳特菌属(Blautia)、霍氏真杆菌属(Eubacterium_hallii_group)、阴沟杆菌属(Agathobacter)丰度高于健康组,拟杆菌属(Bacteroides)、粪杆菌属(Faecalibacterium)丰度低于健康组(均P0.05)。两组对象肠道双歧杆菌属(Bifidobacterium)、埃希菌-志贺菌属(Escherichia-Shigella)丰度差异无统计学意义(均P0.05)。结论 PCOS患者存在肠道菌群失调情况,但其是否是PCOS发展的潜在致病因素需要进一步研究。     

分娩方式对婴儿出生后一年内肠道菌群的影响

目的探讨不同分娩方式对婴儿出生后1年内肠道菌群定植的影响。方法选取45例新生儿为研究对象,根据分娩方式分为自然分娩组(n=27)和剖宫产组(n=18)。收集婴儿出生后0(胎粪)、3、6和12个月的粪便标本,应用高通量测序技术分析肠道菌群多样性及组成。结果与自然分娩组比较,在0个月时剖宫产组婴儿粪便标本拟杆菌门的相对丰度显著降低(Z=-2.374 1,P=0.017 6)。2组研究对象中,除自然分娩组和剖宫产组0个月时婴儿粪便标本分别以埃希菌-志贺菌属和克雷伯菌属为优势菌属外,余下均以双歧杆菌属为优势菌属。相比于自然分娩组,在0个月时剖宫产组婴儿粪便标本埃希菌-志贺菌属和肠杆菌属所占比例显著降低(Z=-2.136 4,P=0.032 7;Z=-2.940 8,P=0.003 3),克雷伯菌属和罗氏菌属所占比例显著升高(Z=-2.642 4,P=0.008 2;Z=-2.299 4,P=0.021 5);6个月时罗氏菌属所占比例显著降低(Z=-2.045 0,P=0.040 9),肠球菌属所占比例显著升高(Z=-2.109 2,P=0.034 9)。结论不同分娩方式下的婴儿肠道菌群的构成存在显著差异。     

心脏手术后视幻觉发生与肠道菌群变化的研究

目的探究心脏术后患者视幻觉症状发生情况及体内肠道菌群变化。方法选取2020年1月-2021年1月中国科学院大学宁波华美医院接受择期体外循环心脏手术的成年患者21例作为研究对象。分别在术前、术后第1次或第2次排便、术后6～8 d进行微生物分析和粪便短链脂肪酸(SCFAs)浓度测定。采用实时荧光定量PCR法检测肠道菌群组成,高效液相色谱检测SCFAs。术后1周进行视幻觉评价。结果21例患者中,视幻觉3例。与术前相比,术后第1和第2份粪便样本的微生物总数显著降低(P<0.05)。在专性厌氧菌中,第一次术后粪便样本中的球形梭菌数量、柔嫩梭菌数量显著低于术前样本。兼性厌氧菌中,术后第1次和第2次标本的乳酸杆菌总数均显著降低。植物乳杆菌数量在第1次术后粪便样本中较低。L. sakei数量在第2次术后标本中明显下降。术后第1次粪便样本中肠杆菌科的数量明显高于术前样本。与术前相比,术后第1次粪便样本中的肠球菌数量显著升高。术后第2次粪便标本中葡萄球菌数量明显高于术前标本。术后视幻觉组葡萄球菌数量明显高于非视幻觉组,第2次术后粪便样本中术后视幻觉组葡萄球菌数量也明显高于非幻视觉组。视幻觉组的假单胞菌数量明显高于非视幻觉组和术后第2次粪便样本。术后第1次粪便标本中,视幻觉组肠杆菌数量高于非视幻觉组。视幻觉组术后第一次粪便样本中总SCFAs浓度显著低于非视幻觉组。以上差异均具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论心脏手术后视幻觉的发生与肠道菌群变化存在一定联系,表现为肠道内肠杆菌科和肠球菌属数量增多,乳杆菌数量降低,同时还伴随着SCFAs浓度的降低。     

补充益生菌对功能性腹泻患者焦虑抑郁状态的影响

目的探讨益生菌对功能性腹泻患者临床症状和心理健康的影响。方法将2019年3月至2019年12月在广东省肇庆市高要区人民医院消化内科门诊收治的伴有焦虑抑郁状态的90例功能性腹泻住院病人随机分为试验组、对照组A、对照组B。三组受试者均口服匹维溴铵,试验组口服双歧杆菌四联活菌,对照组A服用氟西汀,对照组B未给其他药物治疗,疗程均为1个月。治疗前后,比较患者大便次数及性状、汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)和汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HAMD)评分。结果治疗前三组患者每周排便不同次数的人数比较,差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗第3周和第4周后,与对照组A相比,对照组B和试验组的排便不同次数的人数差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗第4周后,试验组与对照组B的排便不同次数的人数比较,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗前3组患者Bristol粪便性状评分比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗第3和第4周后,与对照组A相比,对照组B和试验组的Bristol粪便性状评分比较,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗第4周后,试验组与对照组B的Bristol粪便性状评分比较,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。治疗后与对照组A比较,对照组B和试验组HAMA评分和HAMD评分显著低于对照组A,且差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。与对照组B比较,试验组HAMA评分和HAMD评分显著低于对照组B(P0.05)。结论通过补充益生菌可调节功能性腹泻患者腹泻次数,提高功能性腹泻患者生活质量,改善患者焦虑抑郁症状。     

木耳‘农黑1号'的选育报告

黑木耳新品种‘农黑1号'是以黑木耳‘Au5'和‘木耳黑龙3号'作为亲本菌株,通过单孢杂交配对选育而来。工厂化条件下的生产性试验结果表明：‘农黑1号'的第一潮平均鲜耳产量达到322.4g/袋,干耳产量平均为29.0g/袋,出耳率平均为93.3%,生产周期平均为71d。综合来看,‘农黑1号'具有产量高、周期短、出耳率高、一致性好等优点,可作为黑木耳工厂化栽培的优良新品种。     

Crystal structure of Drosophila melanogaster tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase reveals insights into substrate recognition and catalytic mechanism

Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) catalyzes the oxidative cleavage of the indole ring of l-tryptophan to N-formylkynurenine in the kynurenine pathway, and is considered as a drug target for cancer immunotherapy. Here, we report the first crystal structure of a eukaryotic TDO from Drosophila melanogaster (DmTDO) in complex with heme at 2.7 Å resolution. DmTDO consists of an N-terminal segment, a large domain and a small domain, and assumes a tetrameric architecture. Compared with prokaryotic TDOs, DmTDO contains two major insertion sequences: one forms part of the heme-binding site and the other forms a large portion of the small domain. The small domain which is unique to eukaryotic TDOs, interacts with the active site of an adjacent monomer and plays a role in the catalysis. Molecular modeling and dynamics simulation of DmTDO-heme-Trp suggest that like prokaryotic TDOs, DmTDO adopts an induced-fit mechanism to bind l-Trp; in particular, two conserved but flexible loops undergo conformational changes, converting the active site from an open conformation to a closed conformation. The functional roles of the key residues involved in recognition and binding of the heme and the substrate are verified by mutagenesis and kinetic studies. In addition, a modeling study of DmTDO in complex with the competitive inhibitor LM10 provides useful information for further inhibitor design. These findings reveal insights into the substrate recognition and the catalysis of DmTDO and possibly other eukaryotic TDOs and shed lights on the development of effective anti-TDO inhibitors.