Objective To search for triterpene glycoside with new structure. Methods We studied the sea cucumber Colochirous anceps belonging to the family cucumariidea with many chromatography methods and found a new sulfated triterpene glycoside, which structure was established by a combination of spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV, ESI-MS and 2D-NMR), chemical transformations and other chemical evidence. Results and Conclusion The new sulfated triterpene glycoside was isolated and named Colochiroside A (1) .

Purpose To study NF-κB gene expression level in mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines with differently lymphatic metastasis potentials and to discuss its roles in lymphatic metastasis.Methods Using real-time quantitative PCR, NF-κB gene expression level was detected in mouse hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, including Hca-P with low lymphatic metastasis potential and Hca-F with high lymphatic metastasis potential.Results NF-κB mRNA expression in Hca-P and Hca-F cell lines were (1.41±0.48)×10~(-3),and (2.95±0.22)×10~(-3) (P<0.01),respectively.NF-κB mRNA expression levels were increased with metastasis potential.Conclusion NF-κB gene may play an important role in lymphatic metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the correlation of spiral CT features with expression of E-cadherin(E-cad) in peripheral lung cancer.Methods Spiral CT scans were performed in 58 patients with peripheral lung cancer confirmed by pathology.Expression of E-cad in 58 cases were detected with SP immunohistochemical techniques.Spiral CT findings were compared with expression of E-cad.Results The abnormal expression of E-cad was showed in 32 cases(55.17%).The positive rates of E-cad expression were 40.63% in I-II cell differentiation group and 73.08% in III-IV cell differentiation group,and the difference was significant(P＜0.05).The abnormal expression of E-cad was associated with the CT features,such as lymph node metastasis,pleural invasion and the size of tumor(P＜0.05),but not the cavity sign,spicular sign and vessel convergence sign(P＞0.05).Conclusion E-cad gene over expression may play an important role in the pathogenesis and CT appearances of lung cancer.

ObjectiveTo investigate the predisposing factors and pathogenic fungal species of Malassezia folliculitis in different geographical areas and body sites.MethodsTotally,241 patients diagnosed with Malassezia folliculitis were asked to complete a questionnaire.The content of hair follicles was obtained and subjected to fungal smear and culture examination.Fungal species were identified according to morphological,physiological and biochemical features.Results Of the 241 patients with Malassezia folliculitis,204 (84.65％) were positive for smear examination.A total of 259 specimens were collected from these patients,and fungal culture grew 213(82.24％) strains,of which,209 belonged to Malassezia species,4(1.54％) to Candida species.Among the 209 Malassezia strains,186 were activated and subjected to species identification which resulted in 6 species,including M.furfur (111 strains,59.68％ ),M.sloofiae (43 strains,23.12％ ),M.sympodialis (17 strains,9.14％),M.globosa (9 strains,4.84％),M.pachydermatis (4 strains,2.15％),and M.obtuse(2 strains,1.08％ ).Of the pathogenic fungi of Malassezia folliculitis,M.furfur predominated in the chest,back,abdomen,face and neck,M.sloofiae in the upper limbs,shoulders and vertex,M.globosa in the lower limbs.There were obvious differences in the distribution of pathogenic fungal species at different body sites in a same host,and M.furfur with M.sloofiae or M.sympodialis appeared to be the most common pathogens.ConclusionsIn this study,6 Malassezia species are identified in patients with Malassezia folliculitis in Nantong and Nanjing area,M.furfur and M.sloofiae appear to be the dominant pathogens.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is an important bioactive phospholipid involved in cell signaling through Gprotein-coupled receptors pathways. It is also involved in balancing the lipid composition inside the cell, and modulates the function of lipid rafts as an intermediate in phospholipid metabolism. Because of its involvement in these important processes, LPA degradation needs to be regulated as precisely as its production. Lysophosphatidic acid phosphatase type 6 (ACP6) is an LPA-specific acid phosphatase that hydrolyzes LPA to monoacylglycerol (MAG) and phosphate. Here, we report three crystal structures of human ACP6 in complex with malonate, L-(+)-tartrate and tris, respectively. Our analyses revealed that ACP6 possesses a highly conserved Rossmann-foldlike body domain as well as a less conserved cap domain. The vast hydrophobic substrate-binding pocket, which is located between those two domains, is suitable for accommodating LPA, and its shape is different from that of other histidine acid phosphatases, a fact that is consistent with the observed difference in substrate preferences. Our analysis of the binding of three molecules in the active site reveals the involvement of six conserved and crucial residues in binding of the LPA phosphate group and its catalysis. The structure also indicates a water-supplying channel for substrate hydrolysis. Our structural data are consistent with the fact that the enzyme is active as a monomer. In combination with additional mutagenesis and enzyme activity studies, our structural data provide important insights into substrate recognition and the mechanism for catalytic activity of ACP6.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Catalytic Domain ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; Humans ; Malonates ; metabolism ; Models, Molecular ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nitrophenols ; metabolism ; Organophosphorus Compounds ; metabolism ; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases ; chemistry ; classification ; metabolism ; Tartrates ; metabolism ; Water ; metabolism

Three cases of swimming pool granuloma are reported.Case 1:a 40-year-old female presented with a 2-month history of nodules and plaques on the right hand and forearm.She was a tropical fish salesperson but denied trauma history.Skin examination revealed multiple irregularly sized,dark-red nodules and plaques on the joints of right fingers,wrist,and elbow,as well as multiple subcutaneous nodules simulating strings of beads on the right upper limb.Case 2:a 48-year-old female presented with a 2-month history of nodules and plaques on the left hand and forearm.There was a history of trauma due to tropical fish tank and filter cleaning.Physical examination showed multiple deep purple plaques and painless subcutaneous nodules scattered on the left hand,wrist,and upper limb.Case 3:a 39-year-old male presented with a 3-month history of nodules on the fingers of both hands.There was no history of trauma,but he was a tropical aquarist.Skin examination revealed multiple soybean-sized dark-red nodules on the extensor aspect of interphalangeal joints of both hands.Fungal examinations yielded negative results in the 3 cases,while histopathology revealed infectious granuloma with a mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate.All of the cases showed positive results in purified protein derivative (PPD)skin test.Mycobacterium marinum was isolated from the lesional tissue of Case 1 and 2,but not from Case 3.All the patients were diagnosed with swimming pool granuloma,and given anti-atypical mycobacterial therapy including oral rifampin and clarithromycin.The lesions disappeared after 1 to 3 months of treatment,with the treatment course varying from 2 to 5 months.No recurrence was observed during a 3- to 12-month follow-up.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of maslinic acid on pyroptosis and inflammato-ry response in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion(IR)injury.Methods H9C2 cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into control group,control+maslinic acid group,hypoxia reoxygenation(HR)group,and HR+maslinic acid group.Cellular model of HR injury was constructed by hypoxia for 4 h and then reoxygenation for 12 h.Forty-eight male SD rats were randomly divided into Sham group,IR group,IR+maslinic acid group,IR+maslinic acid+Tri group(n=12).Rat model of myocardial IR injury was established by ligating the left anterior descending branch for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 2 h.The viability of cardiomyocytes was detected,the levels of LDH,CK-MB,IL-1β and IL-18 in the supernatant of cardiomyocytes and rat serum samples were detec-ted in each group.Drug-molecular docking was performed to predict the binding site and binding force of maslinic acid and NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain-associated protein 3(NLRP3).Western blotting was used to detect IκBα,NF-κB P65,NLRP3,apoptosis-associated speck-like protein(ASC),and gasdermid D-N terminal(GSDMD-N)in each group of cardiomyo-cytes and myocardial tissues.Results Compared with the Control group,significantly reduced cell viability,enhanced protein levels of p-IκBα,p-NF-κB P65 and higher releases of LDH,IL-1β and IL-18 were observed in the HR group(P＜0.05).Maslinic acid treatment reversed HR-induced changes in above indicators(P＜0.05).Compared with the Sham group,the protein levels of p-IκBα,p-NF-κB P65,NLRP3,ASC,GSDMD-N and the releases of serum CK-MB,LDH,IL-1βand IL-18 were significantly increased in the IR group(P＜0.05).Maslinic acid treatment also reversed above indicators induced by IR injury(P＜0.05).The protein levels of p-IκBα,p-NF-κB P65,NLRP3,ASC and GSDMD-N were significantly increased,and the releases of serum CK-MB,LDH,IL-1β and IL-18 were also elevated in the IR+maslinic acid+Tri group than the IR+maslinic acid group(1681.00±136.20 U/L vs 1251.00±213.60 U/L,1776.00±185.80 U/L vs 1330.00±172.50 U/L,4.32±0.45 vs 2.95±0.26,3.89±0.20 vs 2.47±0.29,P＜0.05).Conclusion Maslinic acid can show target intervention in NLRP3 activity,thereby inhibiting inflammatory re-sponse and cell pyroptosis,and ultimately attenuate myocardial IR injury effectively.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.