The clinical data of a case of Weave syndrome admitted in the Department of Endocrinology, Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University in October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.The patient was a 9 years and 2 months old girl, who was hospitalized because of " growing too fast for 9 years" . After birth, the child is found to grow fast and have mental retardation, slurred speech, a blurred vision, a long face, a protruding forehead, ocular hypertelorism, epicanthus, nasal bridge pit, finger pads on both hands and feet, uncoordinated gaits, and intoeingpigeon toes.A novel heterozygous c. 1720A>G (p.K574E) mutation was detected in the exon 15 of the EZH2 gene of the patient.This mutation has not been reported at home and overseas.Sanger sequencing revealed that the patient′s parents did not carry the mutation.The disease is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder, and the parents and sibling of the patient have no corresponding symptoms, so it is inferred that the mutation is spontaneous.Based on the peculiarity of the face, clinical manifestations and the results of molecular genetics, the child was diagnosed as Weaver syndrome.

Low shear stress is a component of the tumor microenvironment in vivo and plays a key role in regulating cancer cell migration and invasion. The integrin, as a mechano-sensors mediating and integrating mechanical and chemical signals, induce the adhesion between cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of low shear stress (1.4 dyn/cm2)on the migration of HepG2 cells and the expression of integrin. Scratch wound migration assay was performed to examine the effect of low shear stress on the migration of HepG2 cells at 0 h, 1 h, 2 h and 4 h, respectively. F-actin staining was used to detect the expression of F-actin in HepG2 cells treated with low shear stress at 2 h and 4 h. Western blot analysis was carried out to determine the effect of low shear stress on the expression of integrin at different durations. The results showed that the migrated distance of HepG2 cells and the expression of F-actin increased significantly compared with the controls. The integrin alpha subunits showed a different time-dependent expression, suggesting that various subunits of integrin exhibit different effects in low shear stress regulating cancer cells migration.
Actins ; physiology ; Cell Movement ; Extracellular Matrix ; physiology ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Integrins ; physiology ; Stress, Mechanical

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to analyze the etiology and status of bone age of children with short stat-ure.MethodsAnthropological and physical examination data were retrospectively collected and studied in 2132 children with short stature in the department of endocrinology between 2009 and 2014. Growth hormone (GH) levels were determined by ar-ginine-clonidine test. Bone age was determined by CHN scoring.ResultsAmong the 2132 patients, 1333 were males and 799 were females. Mean age is 9.03 ± 3.04 years old, mean bone age is 6.81 ± 3.05 years. Of them, 324 cases (15.2%) were diagnosed complete GH deifciency, 780 cases (36.59%) were partial GH deifciency, 27cases (1.27%) were multiple pituitary hormone de-ifciency, 13 cases (1.64%) were hypothyroidism, 893 cases (41.89%) were idiopathic short stature, 19 cases (0.89%) were small for gestational age (SGA), 40 cases (1.88%) were chromosomal disorders, etc. Signiifcant difference in age and bone age was found using t test (P<0.05). Signiifcant differences in Δage were found between etiological categories using ANOVA (P=0.000). Δage was signiifcantly and negatively associated with peak GH using Pearson's correlation.ConclusionsGH deifciency is the most common cause of short stature. Bone age of children with short stature is commonly delayed. Δage was signiifcantly and negatively associated with peak GH. Multiple pituitary hormone deifciency has a signiifcant effect on bone age. The etiology of patients with short stature cannot be determined just by bone age.

Objective: To explore the indoor air quality of Harbin and its suburbs, and analyze the influence of indoor air quality on the pulmonary function indexes of schoolchildren, and to provide a reference for preventing the related respiratory diseases. Methods: The concentration of CO 2, formaldehyde, benzene, PM 10 and total bacterial count in indoor of 80 residents in Harbin and its suburb were monitored. The IAAH model was used to evaluate the indoor air quality, and the correlation between the indoor air quality and the pulmonary function indexes of schoolchildren was analyzed. Results: The levels of indoor air pollutant in suburb was higher than that in the urban of Harbin, and the concentration of CO 2, PM 10 and total bacteria count in the suburb of Harbin increase significantly during the heating season(t=5.86，4.92，21.16, P<0.05). Among the 40 households monitored by IAAH model in suburb during heating season, 37.5% had moderate air pollution, and 20.0% had severe air pollution. The IAAH was correlated with FVC, FEF75% and FEF25% after excluding the confounding factors by multiple linear regression(β=-0.17, -0.34, -0.43, P<0.05). Conclusion Indoor air pollution is very serious in the suburb of Harbin during heating season, which should be paid attention to by parents to prevent related respiratory diseases of schoolchildren.

Objective To study the characteristics of resting energy expenditure (REE) and evaluate the association between REE and obesity-related comorbidities in obese children and adolescents.Methods Recruited obese children and adolescents were recruited from the Department of Child Health Care in Nanjing Children's Hospital from July,2015 to September,2016.Height,weight(WT),waist circumference,hip circumference,blood pressure were measured.Puberty status was determined by Tanner staging.REE was measured by indirect calorimetry.Body composition,including fat mass (FM),fat free mass (FFM) were assessed in terms of bioelectrical impedance.Serum biochemical parameters were assessed,including fasting blood glucose (FBG),fasting blood insulin (FBI),total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and uric acid (UA).B-model ultrasonography of the liver was conducted.Results One hundred and ninety-six obese children (143 boys and 53 girls) aged 7-15 years were recruited.The measured REE was (1 497.2 ± 312.1) kcal/d.Pearson correlation analysis indicated that REE was positively related to age (r =0.386,P ＜ 0.001),WT(r =0.676,P ＜ 0.001),FM (r =0.629,P ＜0.001),FFM(r=0.635,P＜0.001) and FM％ (r =0.335,P＜0.001),but negatively related to FFM％ (r=-0.335,P ＜0.001).By studying stepwise linear regression,it was found that the factors which influenced REE were age and weight[REE(kcal/d) =899.469-32.098 × age (year) + 16.143 × weight (kg),P ＜ 0.001].REE was expressed per kg of body weight (REE/WT),and there was a significant difference in REE/WT during pubertal development (P ＜0.001) in both males and females and the pubertal males had lower REE/WT than females.Moreover,REE/WT was lower in insulin resistant group compared to the normal insulin group.Meanwhile,REE/WT in hypertension group was lower than that in the normal blood pressure group.The above differences remained after adjusted for age adjustment(P ＜0.O1).Conclusion The decrease in REE/WT level in obese children and adolescents is correlated with puberty development and obesity complicated with insulin resistance and hypertension.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of neck circumference on cardiometabolic risk in children.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study of natural sources. As the prediction cohort, clinical data were collected from 3 443 children aged 5-14 years who underwent physical examination in the Department of Child Healthcare, Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from July 2021 to September 2022. As the validation cohort for external validation, clinical data were collected from 604 children aged 5-14 years who underwent physical examination in the Department of Child Healthcare, Children′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from October 2022 to March 2023. Height, weight, neck circumference, waist circumference and body composition were measured in both groups, and body mass index, neck circumference to height ratio (NHtR), waist circumference to height ratio, body fat percentage and skeletal muscle percentage were calculated. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, blood lipid and uric acid and other cardiovascular and metabolic risk indicators were collected in both groups. The prediction cohort was further stratified into clustered and non-clustered groups based on the clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors (CCRF). Various variables between these 2 groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Pearson correlation and binary Logistic regression were conducted to investigate the correlations between neck circumference and cardiovascular metabolic risk factors. The accuracy of NHtR in predicting the CCRF was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC). The cutoff value was determined using the Youden index. The validation cohort was then divided into groups above and below the cutoff value, and the detection rate of CCRF between the 2 groups was compared using the χ2 test for validation .Results:In the prediction cohort of 3 443 children (2 316 boys and 1 127 girls), 1 395 (40.5%) children were overweight or obese, and 1 157 (33.6%) children had CCRF. Pearson correlation analysis revealed all significant positive correlations (all P<0.01) between neck circumference and systolic blood pressure ( r=0.47, 0.39), diastolic blood pressure ( r=0.27, 0.21), uric acid ( r=0.36, 0.30), and triglycerides ( r=0.20, 0.20) after adjusting for age in both males and females. Among both males and females, neck circumference both showed significant negative correlation (both P<0.01) with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( r=-0.27, -0.28), and no correlation with fasting glucose levels ( r=0.03, -0.03, both P>0.05). After adjusting for gender, age, and body fat percentage, increased body mass index, neck circumference, or waist circumference increased the risks of hypertension ( OR=1.23, 1.39, 1.07, all P<0.001), hyperuricemia ( OR=1.16, 1.23, 1.05, all P<0.001), hypertriglyceridemia ( OR=1.08, 1.16, 1.02, all P<0.01), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( OR=1.10, 1.27, 1.03, all P<0.01), and the CCRF ( OR=1.51, 1.73, 1.15, all P<0.01). The areas under the ROC curves of NHtR in predicting CCRF was 0.73, with sensitivity and specificity at 0.66 and 0.71, respectively. The corresponding optimal cut-off value was 0.21. Validation with 604 children confirmed that the detection of CCRF in the NHtR≥0.21 group was 3.29 times (60.5% (112/185) vs. 18.7% (79/422), χ2=107.82, P<0.01) higher compared to the NHtR <0.21 group. Conclusions:Neck circumference is associated with cardiovascular metabolic risks such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and hyperuricemia in children. When the NHtR is ≥0.21, there is an increased likelihood of CCRF.

Objective:To establish and validate reference intervals of serum vitamin K for healthy children in China.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2020 to May 2023, involving 807 healthy children aged 0 to 14 years, selected by stratified random sampling based on the population distribution of children in eastern, central, western, and northeastern China. Sample collection was carried out in 16 hospitals across 12 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Basic information of the children was collected using a standardized self-design questionnaire. Serum levels of vitamin K 1 and vitamin K 2 (menaquinone-4 (MK-4), menaquinone-7 (MK-7)) were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The reference intervals was established by direct approach. The children were divided into different groups by age. Inter-group comparisons were conducted using the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test, and the reference intervals ( P2.5- P97.5) were determined using non-parametric methods. Screening 40 healthy children for small sample validation based on age groups within the reference range(25 from eastern, 10 from central, and 5 from western regions). Results:The age of the 807 children was 5.00 (2.00, 9.81) years, and 495 (61.3%) were males and 312 (38.7%) females. Reference intervals were established for 795 children, of whom 303 children were aged 1 month to 3 years and 492 were aged 4 to 14 years. The reference intervals for serum vitamin K 1 were 0.09-4.54 μg/L for children aged 1 month to 3 years, and 0.10-1.73 μg/L for 4-14 years. For MK-7, the intervals were 0.07-1.42 μg/L for 1 month to 3 years and 0.19-2.03 μg/L for 4-14 years. The reference intervals for MK-4 in children aged 1 month to 14 years were 0-0.42 μg/L. The measured values of serum vitamin K 1, MK-4, and MK-7 in the validation samples did not exceed the reference limit in more than 2 samples. Conclusion:Reference intervals for vitamin K 1, MK-4, and MK-7 in healthy children aged 1 month to 14 years have been established and validated, and can be used to assess vitamin K nutritional status in children.

The " liver disease affecting to the spleen" theory first appeared in Nanjing and was further elaborated in Jingui Yaolue. This theory encapsulates the traditional Chinese medicine principles of the " unity of the five viscera" and the " preventive treatment of disease" . The theory emphasizes that the spleen is the pivotal point where depression may progress from a functional disorder to an organic disease. The liver governs the emotions and qi flow, whereas the spleen is responsible for qi, blood, and body. In the early stages of the disease, emotional disorders and qi flow disorders primarily affect the liver, manifesting as depression or low mood. As the condition progresses, the liver (Wood) overacts on the spleen (Earth), disrupting liver and spleen functions and causing qi and blood disharmony. This stage is marked by fatigue and psychomotor retardation. Prolonged illness depletes qi and blood, eventually involving all five viscera, disrupting the harmony of the five spirits, and affecting both body and spirit. At this advanced phase, intense emotional distress or agitation often arises, accompanied by a heightened risk of suicide. The disease progression follows a dynamic " qi-blood-spirit" pattern, in which depression begins in the liver, characterized by qi stagnation, then affects the spleen, involving blood disharmony. In later stages, the disease eventually affects all viscera, with profound effects on both physical and mental health. Treatment strategies should align with the disease stage. Early intervention should focus on regulating the flow of qi, treating the liver, and strengthening the spleen. In the middle stages, qi and blood should be harmonized while promoting the harmonized functions of the liver and spleen. In the later stages, treatment should harmonize the five viscera to restore balance between body and spirit. Guided by this theory, integrating modern medical understanding of the progression of depression from emotional to somatic symptoms and adopting a stage-based approach to treatment in clinical practice can yield effective therapeutic outcomes for managing depression and related disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of propofol on pyroptosis of macrophages. METHODS: Macrophages derived from bone marrow were extracted and divided into three groups: control group, LPS+ATP group and propofol+LPS+ATP group. The control group was not given any treatment; LPS+ATP group was given LPS 1 μg/mL stimulation for 4 h, then ATP 4 mM stimulation for 1 h; Propofol+LPS+ATP group was given propofol+LPS 1 μg/mL stimulation for 4 h, then ATP stimulation for 1 h. After treatment, the supernatant and cells of cell culture were collected. the cell activity was detected by CCK8 and flow cytometry. The inflammatory cytokines IL-1βand IL-18 were detected by Elisa. Western blot was used to detect the expression of caspase-1 protein and TLR4 on cell membran Immunohistochemical fluorescence was used to detect apoptosis of cells. RESULTS: LPS+ATP significantly decreased the viability of the macrophages and increased the cellular production of IL-1β and IL-18, activation of caspase-1 protein and the expression of TLR-4 on the cell membrane ( < 0.05). Treatment with propofol obviously reversed the changes induced by LPS+ATP. CONCLUSIONS LPS+ATP can induce pyroptosis of mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages, and propofol effectively inhibits such cell death, suggesting that propofol anesthesia is beneficial during operation and helps to regulate the immune function of in patients with sepsis.
Animals ; Caspase 1 ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Macrophages ; Mice ; Propofol ; Pyroptosis