Cochlear Nerve ; abnormalities ; Ear Diseases ; classification ; Ear, Inner ; abnormalities ; Humans ; Temporal Bone ; abnormalities

Objective To observe the expression of cAMP -response element binding protein (CREB) and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDA ) after intracochlear electrical stimulation in the auditory cortex and inferior colliculus in infant rats with auditory deprivation .Methods Sixty six SD infant rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (11 rats each group):4 weeks ,and 6 weeks after injection of ototoxic drug ,the control group ,and 3 weeks and 5 weeks after injection of ototoxic drug with intra -cochlear electrical stimulation for one week .Gentami-cin sulphate (350 mg/kg body weight) and frusemide (200 mg/kg body weight) were injected subcutaneously in the skin folds on the lateral abdominal side and the dorsal neck area ,respectively .The expression of CREB and NMDAR1protein were detected by immunohistological staining .Results The results of immunohisto -chemistry revealed that protein expression of CREB and NMDAR1 in 4 week group of injection increased as compared to the control group ,while decreasing as compared to intracochlear electrical stimulation group ,significantly .However ,protein expression of CREB and NMDAR1 in 6 week group of injection decreased as compared to the control group and in-tracochlear electrical stimulation group ,significantly .Conclusion Auditory deprivation could result in the expres-sion of protein of CREB and NMDAR1 in auditory cortex and inferior colliculus increasing in an early stage and then de-creasing in infant rats .Intracochlear electrical stimulation could result in the expression of proteins of CREB and NMDAR 1 in auditory cortex and inferior colliculus increasing in infant rats .The dynamic variation of CREB and NMDAR1 expression in rat auditory cortex and inferior colliculus reflects synaptic plasticity in neurons of auditory pathway .

AIM:To detect the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and matrix metalloprotei-nase 9 (MMP9) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its correlation with clinicopathological features and prognosis of the patients.METHODS:The expression of bFGF and MMP9 was detected by the method of SP immunohistochemical staining in biopsy tissues of NPC patients.The relationship between the expression and the clinical significance was analyzed as well.RESULTS:In 289 cases of NPC patients, the positive rates of bFGF and MMP9 were 71.3% and 61.6%, respectively.Correlation analysis demonstrated that the expression rates of bFGF and MMP9 were both positively associated with N stage and clinical stage in NPC patients.The high expression rates of both bFGF and MMP9 were associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival of NPC patients.Furthermore, the positive rate of bFGF was positively correlated with that of MMP9, and over-expression of both bFGF and MMP9 was correlated with the poorest survival outcomes in NPC patients.CONCLUSION:bFGF and MMP9 are over-expressed in NPC tissues and significantly associated with NPC recurrence and poor outcome.The combined interpretation of bFGF and MMP9 expression levels leads to refinement of the risks for the NPC patients and could be chosen as the prognostic biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical characteristics and genetic basis of a child with Teebi hypertelorism syndrome 1 (TBHS1). METHODS: A child with TBHS1 who was admitted to the Children's Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine on July 13, 2021 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the child was collected. Peripheral blood samples of the child and his parents were collected and subjected to whole exome sequencing (WES). Candidate variant was verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: The child, a 13-year-old male, had manifested delayed growth and development. WES results revealed that he has harbored a heterozygous c.1244A>G variant of the SPECC1L gene, which was verified to be de novo in origin. The variant has not been included in the HGMD and gnomAD databases. As predicted by online software including PolyPhen-2, SIFT, and Mutation Taster, the variant may affect the function of protein domain. And PyMOL software has predicted that the structural stability of SPECC1L protein (p.Gln415Arg) might be reduced. Based on the guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the variant was classified as pathogenic (PM6+PM1+PP4+PM2_Supporting+PP3). CONCLUSION The heterozygous c.1244A>G variant of the SPECC1L gene probably underlay the TBHS1 in this child. Above finding has expanded the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of the SPECC1L gene and provided a basis for the clinical diagnosis of this child.
Adolescent ; Humans ; Male ; China ; Computational Biology ; Genomics ; Genotype ; Mutation

AIM: To guide the multiple imputation of missing data in clinical longitudinal studies and its sensitivity analyses, and highlight the importance of sensitivity analyses by taking the clinical trial of Qizhitongluo Capsule in treating ischemic stroke as an example. METHODS: To implement PROC MI process in SAS to perform multiple imputation and its sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: In the example, after multiple imputation, improvements in lower limb motor scores of the Qizhitongluo group were greater than those of the placebo group (all P<0.01), and the results of two sensitivity analyses under "missing not at random" were consistent with those under "missing at random". CONCLUSION: Multiple imputations combined with sensitivity analyses can ensure a robust result. It is recommended that clinical researchers perform sensitivity analyses after filling missing data.