OBJECTIVE: Schizophrenia (SZ) has been associated with the inflammatory-related and immunological pathogenesis. This study investigates the aberration of cytokines in patients with SZ. METHODS: Thirty patients with SZ without antipsychotic treatment for at least two weeks participated. We measured the serum levels of fourteen cytokines at hospital admission and after 8-week antipsychotic treatment. Severity was measured by expanded version of 24-items brief psychiatric rating scale (BPRS-E). Repeated measure analyses of variance were conducted. RESULTS: The interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) was significantly decreased after 8-week antipsychotic treatment than those of before antipsychotic treatment (F=12.15, df=1/30, p=0.002). Neural cell adhesion molecule 1/CD56 (NCAM-1/CD56) was significantly decreased (F=6.61, df=1/30, p=0.016) among those with second-generation antipsychotics but not first-generation antipsychotics treatment. The changes of BPRS-E-manic and BPRS-E-anxiety scores correlated with the baseline IL-1ra (r=-0.393), IL-6 (r=-0.407), and insulin like growth factor binding protein 3 (r=-0.446). Additionally, the changes of BPRS-E and BPRS-E-negative scores correlated with the changes of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (r=0.372) and interferon-gamma (r=0.375). CONCLUSION: Our study supports that IL-1ra and NCAM-1/CD56 may be considered as markers of developing SZ.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Carrier Proteins ; Cytokines ; Humans ; Insulin ; Interferon-gamma ; Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein* ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-6 ; Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules ; Schizophrenia*

OBJECTIVE: To study the metabolic characteristics of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in vitro and compare the differences between rats and human,and for the purpose of providing data for poison effect research and extrapolating poison effect of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile from animals to human being. METHODS: Equilibrium dialysis method was used to analyze the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the plasma of rats and humans in the groups of low dose,medium dose and high dose which were treated with mass concentration of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile at 500,5 000 and 50 000 μg / L respectively. Metabolic incubation systems of SD rat microsomes and human liver microsomes were established in vitro. When the mass concentration of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the systems was 800 μg / L,the concentration of liver microsome was 0. 5 g / L; after being incubated for 0,10,30,60 and 90 min with the involvement of the regeneration system of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate in the incubation systems,the metabolic reaction was stoped. The residual amounts of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile were analyzed and metabolic half-life of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile incubating with liver microsomes in vitro was figured out. RESULTS: Protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the groups of low dose,medium dose and high dose were( 83. 5 ± 0. 9) %,( 88. 8 ± 0. 3) % and( 88. 6 ± 0. 3) % in rats plasma,and( 85. 2 ± 0. 1) %,( 89. 0 ± 0. 1) % and( 91. 1 ± 0. 4) % in human plasma. Both in rat plasma and human plasma,the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the groups of medium dose and high dose were significantly increased than that in the low-dose group( P < 0. 01). In human plasma,the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in the high-dose group significantly increased than that in the medium-dose group( P < 0. 01). In the groups of low dose and high dose,the protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in human plasma significantly increased than that in rats plasma( P < 0. 01). Absolute differences in protein binding ratio of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile between the rat plasma and the human plasma were no more than 2. 5% in the same dose groups. Metabolic half-life of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile incubating with rats and human liver microsomes and control solution in vitro were respectively( 58. 6 ± 1. 6),( 59. 2 ± 1. 5) and( 65. 0 ± 6. 3) min,which shows no significant differences( P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: The potein binding ratio and metabolism of 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile in liver microsomes in rat plasma is similar to those in human plasma. Both in the plasmas of rats and humans,5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile has high protein binding ratio,and 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzonitrile is not metabolized in liver microsomes of either rats or humans.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is essential to develop a reliable predictive serum biomarker for Parkinson's disease (PD). The accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αSyn) and up-regulated expression of Rab35 participate in the etiology of PD. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a useful predictive biomarker for PD. METHODS: Serum levels of αSyn or Rab35 were determined in serum samples from 59 sporadic PD patients, 19 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients, 20 multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, and 60 normal controls (NC). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of αSyn or/and Rab35 in discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients. RESULTS: The levels of αSyn and Rab35 were increased in PD patients. The serum level of Rab35 was positively correlated with that of αSyn in PD patients. Compared to analyzing αSyn or Rab35 alone, the combined analysis of αSyn and Rab35 produced a larger area under the ROC curve and performed better in discriminating PD patients from NC, MSA patients, or PSP patients. When age was dichotomized at 55, 60, 65, or 70 years, the combined assessment of αSyn and Rab35 for classifying PD was better in the group below the cutoff age than in the group above the cutoff age. CONCLUSIONS: Combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a better biomarker for discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients, and is a useful predictive biomarker for younger sporadic PD patients.
alpha-Synuclein ; Humans ; Multiple System Atrophy ; Parkinson Disease ; ROC Curve ; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive

Background/Aims:  Rituximab is known to be associated with high hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation rate in patients with resolved HBV infection and hematologic malignancy. However, data regarding HBV reactivation (HBVr) in rheumatic patients receiving rituximab is limited. To assess the HBVr rate in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative patients receiving rituximab for autoimmune diseases in a large real-world cohort. Methods:  From March 2006 to December 2019, 900 patients with negative HBsAg receiving at least one cycle of rituximab for autoimmune diseases in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical outcome and factors associated with HBVr were analyzed. Results: After a median follow-up period of 3.3 years, 21 patients developed HBVr, among whom 17 patients were positive for hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) and four were negative. Thirteen patients had clinical hepatitis flare, while eight patients had HBsAg seroreversion without hepatitis. Old age, anti-HBc positivity, undetectable serum hepatitis B surface antibody level at rituximab initiation and a higher average rituximab dose were associated with a higher HBVr rate. There was no significant difference in the HBVr risk between rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. Among anti-HBc-negative patients, subjects without HBV vaccination at birth had an increased risk of HBVr (4/368, 1.1%) compared with those who received vaccination (0/126, 0%). Conclusions In HBV endemic areas where occult HBV is prevalent, anti-HBc-negative patients, may still be at risk for HBVr after rituximab exposure. HBVr may still be considered in HBsAgnegative patients developing abnormal liver function after rituximab exposure, even in patients with negative anti-HBc.

Gaining a better understanding of autoprotection against drug-induced liver injury(DILI)may provide new strategies for its prevention and therapy.However,little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon.We used single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize the dynamics and functions of hepatic non-parenchymal cells(NPCs)in autoprotection against DILI,using acetaminophen(APAP)as a model drug.Autoprotection was modeled through pretreatment with a mildly hepatotoxic dose of APAP in mice,followed by a higher dose in a secondary challenge.NPC subsets and dynamic changes were identified in the APAP(hepatotoxicity-sensitive)and APAP-resistant(hepatotoxicity-resistant)groups.A chemokine(C-C motif)ligand 2+endothelial cell subset almost disappeared in the APAP-resistant group,and an R-spondin 3+endothelial cell subset promoted hepatocyte proliferation and played an important role in APAP autoprotection.Moreover,the dendritic cell subset DC-3 may protect the liver from APAP hepatotoxicity by inducing low reactivity and suppressing the autoimmune response and occurrence of inflammation.DC-3 cells also promoted angiogenesis through crosstalk with endothelial cells via vascular endothelial growth factor-associated ligand-receptor pairs and facilitated liver tissue repair in the APAP-resistant group.In addition,the natural killer cell subsets NK-3 and NK-4 and the Sca-1-CD62L+natural killer T cell subset may promote autoprotection through interferon-y-dependent pathways.Furthermore,macrophage and neutrophil subpopulations with anti-inflammatory phenotypes promoted tolerance to APAP hepatotoxicity.Overall,this study reveals the dynamics of NPCs in the resistance to APAP hepatotoxicity and provides novel insights into the mechanism of autoprotection against DILI at a high resolution.

BACKGROUND: Associations of acute glycemic complications with season and ambient temperature have been reported in general population with diabetes. However, little is known about the risks of acute glycemic complications in relation to season and ambient temperature in pregnant women, who are likely to be even more vulnerable. This work aimed to investigate the associations of season and ambient temperature with pregnancies complicated with hyperglycemia emergency or severe hypoglycemia. METHODS: Two separate case-control studies were nested within 150,153 pregnancies by women with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes between 2009 and 2014 in Taiwan. Hyperglycemia emergency (mainly diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state) and severe hypoglycemia occurred in 77 and 153 diabetic pregnancies (cases), respectively. Ten control pregnancies were randomly selected for each case by matching each case pregnancy on type of diabetes (i.e., T1DM, T2DM, or GDM), maternal age on the date of acute glycemic complication occurrence (i.e., index date), and "length of gestation at risk" (i.e., period between conception and index date). Meteorological parameters were retrieved from 542 meteorological monitoring stations across Taiwan during 2008-2014. Conditional logistic regression analysis with generalized estimation equation was separately performed to estimate the covariate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of each of the two acute glycemic complications in association with season and ambient temperature within 30 days prior to the index date. RESULTS: Compared to summer, winter season was associated with a significantly elevated risk of severe hypoglycemia with an OR of 1.74 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-2.79). The OR of hyperglycemic emergency was also elevated in winter season at OR of 1.88, but the significance is only marginal (95% CI 0.97-3.64, p = 0.0598). Subgroup analyses further noted that such seasonal variation was also observed in pregnancies with pre-pregnancy type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes. On the other hand, ambient temperature was not significantly associated with the two acute glycemic complications. CONCLUSIONS A moderately but significantly elevated risk of severe hypoglycemia was found in pregnant women with diabetes during winter season, and such increased risk was more evident in pregnancies with T1DM.
Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/complications* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia/etiology* ; Incidence ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Taiwan/epidemiology* ; Temperature

Klebsiella pneumoniae(K.pneumoniae)is an important pathogen that can cause severe hospital-and community-acquired infections.To systematically investigate its methylation features,we determined the whole-genome sequences of 14 K.pneumoniae strains covering varying serotypes,multilocus sequence types,clonal groups,viscosity/virulence,and drug resistance.Their methy-lomes were further characterized using Pacific Biosciences single-molecule real-time and bisulfite technologies.We identified 15 methylation motifs[13 N6-methyladenine(6mA)and two 5-methylcytosine(5mC)motifs],among which eight were novel.Their corresponding DNA methyl-transferases were also validated.Additionally,we analyzed the genomic distribution of GATC and CCWGG methylation motifs shared by all strains,and identified differential distribution pat-terns of some hemi-/un-methylated GATC motifs,which tend to be located within intergenic regions(IGRs).Specifically,we characterized the in vivo methylation kinetics at single-base resolu-tion on a genome-wide scale by simulating the dynamic processes of replication-mediated passive demethylation and MTase-catalyzed re-methylation.The slow methylation of the GATC motifs in the replication origin(oriC)regions and IGRs implicates the epigenetic regulation of replication initiation and transcription.Our findings illustrate the first comprehensive dynamic methylome map of K.pneumoniae at single-base resolution,and provide a useful reference to better understand epigenetic regulation in this and other bacterial species.