Transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) superfamily can regulate the development of primordial germ cell (PGC) and gonocyte. TGF beta, bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), activin, inhibin, and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), all of which belong to the TGF beta superfamily, can play important roles in male germ cell development. Their downstream signaling molecules, Smads proteins are involved in the signal transduction pathway. In addition, TGF beta and AMH contribute to the apoptosis during development. Understanding this effect will help to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the early development of male reproductive system and the pathogenesis of testicular cancer.
Activins ; physiology ; Animals ; Anti-Mullerian Hormone ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; physiology ; Glycoproteins ; Growth Inhibitors ; physiology ; Humans ; Inhibins ; physiology ; Male ; Spermatogenesis ; physiology ; Spermatozoa ; growth & development ; Testicular Hormones ; physiology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo provide morphological basis for chyle leakage due to operation on upper abdomen or retroperitoneum region.

METHODSThe original part of thoracic duct, cisterna chyle, intestinal trunk, left and right lumbar trunks were examined in 32 adult cadavers.

RESULTS(1) The occurrence rate of cisterna chili was 22% (7 cases), among which 4 cases were oval, 3 cases were triangle. The cisterna chyle was (24 +/- 6) mm in length; the width of middle part was (4.1 +/- 0.9) mm. It was located to the right of midline at the level between the twelfth thoracic vertebral body and the second lumbar vertebral body anteriorly. (2) The original part of thoracic duct was (2.8 +/- 0.7) mm in diameter. The confluence form of thoracic duct included: left lumbar trunk and intestinal trunk united to form the common trunk first, right lumbar trunk then joined the common trunk (9 cases, 36%); right lumbar trunk and intestinal trunk united to form the common trunk first, left lumbar trunk then joined the common trunk (8 cases, 32%); left and right lumbar trunk united to form the common trunk first, intestinal trunk then joined the common trunk (4 cases, 16%); left, right lumbar trunk and intestinal trunk joined together (3 cases, 12%). (3) The intestinal trunk was (36 +/- 15) mm in length. It ascended on the left of descending aorta, superior to the left renal artery, crossed the second lumbar vertebra anteriorly, and joined left or right lumbar trunk to form common trunk, which extended to the cisterna chili or thoracic duct to the right of lumbar vertebra. (4) The lengths of left and right lumbar trunks were (107 +/- 24) mm and (111 +/- 18) mm, the external diameters of origins were (1.7 +/- 0.4) mm and (1.9 +/- 0.4) mm, and the external diameters of terminations were (2.2 +/- 0.6) mm and (2.2 +/- 0.5) mm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe larger lymph tubes should be protected emphatically in the relevant region when dissecting the root of celiac and superior mesenteric artery and the termination of inferior mesenteric vein during abdominal operation.

Abdomen ; anatomy & histology ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; adverse effects ; Male ; Thoracic Duct ; anatomy & histology

OBJECTIVETo identify the side effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and improve early therapeutic response in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

METHODThe first case of Sweet's syndrome (SS) developed in a APL patient treated with ATRA was reported in mainland of China, and reviewed correlative literature.

RESULTSOnly 14 cases of SS associated with ATRA therapy in APL have been reported in the literature, including the present case. The median age was 49.5 years (9 -84) and 10 were women and 4 men. Of them, SS was restricted to the skin in 10 case, the other 4 muscle, fascia, kidney, and lung were involved. SS appeared after a median of 18 days of ATRA therapy (6 - 34 days). The median WBC count was 7.05 (0.80 - 23.00) x 10(9)/L. Four patients continued with the ATRA therapy without interruption, 13 patients treated with steroids and 12 responded. One patient improved without any treatment. Two cases of SS developed retinoic acid syndromes after ATRA therapy.

CONCLUSIONSweet's syndrome is a rare adverse effect of ATRA, and has similar features with inflammatory or infective dermatosis. The corticosteroids treatment could improve the systemic and cutaneous symptoms. When ATRA therapy was restarted after SS subsided, no recurrence of rashes was observed.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sweet Syndrome ; chemically induced ; Tretinoin ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use

BACKGROUNDAlthough the first leading cause of death in China was malignant neoplasms (mortality, 374.1 per 100,000 person-years), the full impact of primary brain tumors (PBT) on the healthcare system is not completely described because there are a few well documented reports about the epidemiologic features of brain tumors. This study aimed to report a comprehensive assessment on the prevalence of PBT.

METHODSA multicenter cross-sectional study on brain tumor (MCSBT) in China was initiated in five regional centers: Daqing (northeast), Puyang (north of China), Shiyan (center of China), Ma'anshan (center of China) and Shanghai (southeast). Prevalence rate was calculated by counting the number of people living with a PBT between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006 and dividing by the total population of the five communities at January 1, 2006. Estimates of prevalence were expressed as percentages and grouped according to gender and to age in fifteen-year categories. Within these strata, the rates were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using the accurate calculation of CI for Poisson distribution. A chi-square test was used to compare the various frequencies with α < 0.05. Age-standardized prevalence with the direct method was calculated with the ten-year age-specific prevalence and the age distribution of the Chinese population in 2010, obtained from World population prospects: the 2008 revision.

RESULTSWe estimated that the overall prevalence of PBT was 24.56 per 100,000 (95%CI, 14.85 to 34.27), and the overall prevalence of PBT in female population (30.57 per 100,000 and its 95%CI ranged from 19.73 to 41.41) was higher than that in male population (18.84 per 100,000 and its 95%CI ranged from 10.33 to 27.35). However, the discrepancy between genders was not statistically significant because the 95%CI overlapped. Of 272 cases of newly diagnosed PBT, the proportion of histological subtypes by age groups, gender was statistically different (χ(2) = 52.6510, P < 0.0001). More than half of all reported tumors (52.57%) were either gliomas or meningiomas. For the youngest (aged from 0 - 19) strata of the population, glioma appeared to occur more than other subtypes, accounting for 55.56% of all of cases. The majority of brain tumors presented in those aged from 20 to 59 years was pituitary adenomas (45.12%) and gliomas (31.10%). Opposed to brain tumors in adults and teenage, gliomas only accounted for 22.22%. Meanwhile, the median ages at diagnosis of the patients with PBT were similar between males and females except for pituitary adenomas (male: 59 years old; female: 45 years old).

CONCLUSIONSAge standardized prevalence of PBT is 22.52 per 100,000 (95%CI, 13.22 to 31.82) for all populations, 17.64 per 100,000 (95%CI, 9.41 to 25.87) for men, and 27.94 per 100,000 (95%CI, 17.58 to 38.30) for women. Age standardization to China's 2010 population yielded an estimated population of 304 954 cases with PBT. Our prevalence estimates provide a conservative basis on which to plan health care services and to develop programmatic strategies for surviving. In the future, it would be helpful to have long-term observed survival rates that would make the assumptions and the resulting imprecision in the current estimates unnecessary.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Brain Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Young Adult

BACKGROUNDTakayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare inflammatory arteriopathy of unknown etiology. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic susceptibility to TA in a Chinese population.

METHODSFour single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) those locate in the IL12B region (rs56167332), the MLX region (rs665268), the FCGR2A/FCGR3A locus (rs10919543), and the HLA-B/MICA locus (rs12524487), associated with TA in different population, were genotyped in 123 Chinese TA patients and 147 healthy controls from January 2013 to August 2014. A Chi-square test was used to test for genotype/allele frequencies variants.

RESULTSAmong the four SNPs, rs10919543 was found to be significantly associated with TA in the studied population. The GG genotype of rs10919543 at the FCGR2A/FCGR3A locus is a high risk factor (odds ratio [OR] = 6.532, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.402 - 17.763, P < 0.001) for TA. Among TA patients, the level of eosinophil granulocytes (Eos) in the peripheral blood was observed to be higher in the GG group of rs10919543 (n = 23, Eos = 0.11 [0.08, 0.17] ×109/L) than the GA + AA group (n = 100, Eos = 0.08 [0.05, 0.13] ×109/L, P = 0.028). No correlation between the genotypes of the other three SNPs and TA patients was observed.

CONCLUSIONSOur findings revealed unique genetic pattern in Chinese TA patients that may be partly responsible for the higher risk of TA in this population. FCGR2A/FCGR3A-related immune disorder might contribute to the etiology of TA.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Receptors, IgG ; genetics ; Takayasu Arteritis ; etiology ; genetics

BACKGROUNDProneurotrophins such as the precursor of nerve growth factor (proNGF) and the precursor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF) interacted with sortilin and p75(NTR) to form a complex capable of activating an apoptotic signaling. We found that the expression of p75(NTR) and sortilin was increased in ischemic retina induced by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), but the protein expression changes of proNGF and proBDNF in the same situation were not clear. This study aimed to ascertain the protein expression changes of proNGF and proBDNF in ischemic retina induced by elevated IOP.

METHODSExpression of proBDNF and proNGF was examined by double-labeling immunochemistry in normal rat retina, examined using Western blotting and analyzed using statistical methods in ischemic retina induced by elevated IOP.

RESULTSImmunocytochemistry showed that the proBDNF expressed in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) while the proNGF primarily existed in both the nerve fiber layers (NFL) and large ganglion cell bodies of normal rat retina. Western blotting analysis demonstrated that the molecule weights of 28 kD (proBDNF)/25 kD (proNGF) band were increased significantly (P < 0.05) at days 3, 5 and 7 after retinal elevated-IOP-induced ischemia.

CONCLUSIONProBDNF expressed in the GCL and proNGF primarily presented in NFL and large ganglion cell bodies of normal rat retina, the protein expression forms of 28 kD proBDNF and 25 kD proNGF increased in ischemic retina induced by elevated IOP.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; analysis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intraocular Pressure ; physiology ; Ischemia ; metabolism ; Male ; Nerve Growth Factor ; analysis ; Protein Precursors ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Retinal Diseases ; metabolism

To analyze the prognosis and risk factors of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), 94 patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia were enrolled in this study, while survival rate and risk factors of prognosis were analyzed. The results indicated that the complete remission (CR) ratio was 51.1%. Overall survival and event-free survival rates of month 6, 12, 18, 24 were 68.6%, 55.8%, 53.8%, 46.4%, 21.3% and 57.9%, 38.6%, 33.3%, 31.6%, 0% respectively. The factors such as age<40 years, WBC<10.0x10(9)/L before chemotherapy, WBC in the period of bone marrow suppression<1.0x10(9)/L, chemotherapy within 1 month after occurrence of leukemia, blood transfusion before chemotherapy of APL had favourable influence on remission and survival rates of ANLL patients. CR1, the time to get CR, length of CR and relapse significantly correlated with prognosis (p<0.05). It is concluded that the individualized therapy concerning the risk factors should be applied to ANLL patients for improving the remission, survival rate and prognosis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Cytarabine ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Harringtonines ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Tretinoin ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult

Objective: To compare the efficacy between laparoscopic and open proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction for Siewert type II and III adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Inclusion criteria: (1) 18 to 80 years old; (2) Siewert II and III AEG was confirmed by preoperative gastroscopy and biopsy, which could not be resected by endoscopy; patients undergoing radical proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction; (3) contrast-enhanced abdominal CT staging was cT1-2N0M0; (4) Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) physical status score <2 points, American Association of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade 1 to 2; (5) patients agreed to perform proximal gastrectomy and signed an informed consent. Those who had undergone neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy, suffered from serious mental diseases and had incomplete data were excluded. According to the above criteria, clinical data of 84 consecutive patients with Siewert II and III AEG undergoing surgery at General Surgery Department of The Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2010 to December 2018 were collected and analyzed. Of 84 patients, 61 underwent open proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (OPG group), while 23 underwent laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (LPG group). The perioperative complications and postoperative reflux esophagitis of two groups were compared. A P-value of <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Among 84 cases, 74 were male and 10 were female. There were 43 cases of Siewert type II and 41 cases of Siewert type III. There were no significant differences in age, gender, body mass index, comorbidities, Siewert type, and tumor staging between the two groups (all P>0.05). As compared to the OPG group, the LPG group had longer operation duration [(223±21) minutes vs. (161±14) minutes, t=15.352, P<0.001], less intraoperative blood loss [195 (150, 215) ml vs. 208 (192, 230) ml, Z=2.143, P=0.032], and shorter time to flatus [(2.8±0.7) days vs. (3.3±0.9) days, t=2.477, P=0.015]. There were no significant differences in the number of harvested lymph nodes, time to the first meal and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups (all P>0.05). Postoperative complications developed in 2 cases (8.7%, 1 case each for anastomotic leakage and intestinal obstruction) in the LPG group and 5 cases (8.2%, 1 case each for anastomotic leakage, anastomotic bleeding, and anastomotic stenosis, 2 cases of incision infection) in the OPG group (χ(2)=5.603, P=0.231). The median follow-up was 41.2 (12.8-110.5) months. One patient (1.6%,1/61) had obvious reflux symptoms in the OPG group, compared with none in the LPG group (χ(2)=0.644, P=0.422). Esophagitis occurred in 1 case (4.8%, 1/21) in LPG group, compared with 4 patients (7.1%, 4/56) in the OPG group, without significant difference between the two groups (χ(2)=0.505, P=0.477). Conclusion: Laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction is safe and feasible without increasing the risk of postoperative complication and reflux esophagitis.
Adenocarcinoma/surgery* ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Esophagogastric Junction/surgery* ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

To investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA), the molecule structure file of TCDCA was downloaded from PubChem database, PharmMapper and GeneCards were used to predict and screen the targets of TCDCA. STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to construct protein interactions network. GO and KEGG analysis was preformed through STRING database. The key targets were validated by molecular docking and the targets type was attributed by DisGeNET database. The network showed that 89 targets were involved in 68 biological processes including response to stimulus, multicellular organismal process, single-multicellular organism process, response to chemical, response to organic substance, by adjusting 51 signaling pathways, such as pathways in cancer, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, MAPK signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer. These findings provide an overview of anti-inflammation of TCDCA, which reflects the characteristic of multi-targets and multi-pathways of TCDCA. It pointed out the direction for further research on anti-inflammatory mechanism of TCDCA.

Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), which is defined as the absence of spermatozoa in the ejaculate secondary to impaired spermatogenesis within the testis, may be caused by a variety of etiologies, including varicocele-induced testicular damage, cryptorchidism, prior testicular torsion, post-pubertal mumps orchitis, gonadotoxic effects from medications, genetic abnormalities, chemotherapy/radiation, and other unknown causes currently classified as idiopathic (Cocuzza et al., 2013). The microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) technique involves a meticulous microsurgical exploration of the testicular parenchyma to identify and selectively extract larger seminiferous tubules that carry a higher probability of complete spermatogenesis (Schlegel, 1999). The Cornell group evaluated the efficacy of micro-TESE in 152 NOA patients with an associated history of cryptorchidism. In their series, spermatozoa were successfully retrieved in 116/181 attempts (64%), and the resulting pregnancy rate was 50% with a delivery rate of 38% (Dabaja and Schlegel, 2013). Franco et al. (2016) described a stepwise micro-TESE approach in NOA patients, which was considered to reduce the cost, time, and effort associated with the surgery. Alrabeeah et al. (2016) further reported that a mini-incision micro-TESE, carried through a 1-cm equatorial testicular incision, can be useful for micro-TESE candidates, particularly in patients with cryptozoospermia. We conducted a retrospective study of 20 consecutive NOA patients with a history of orchidopexy from May 2015 to March 2017.
Adult ; Azoospermia/surgery* ; Humans ; Male ; Microdissection/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Orchiopexy ; Retrospective Studies ; Sperm Retrieval