Impaired clearance of apoptotic cells is important in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease.C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that plays a major role in the regulation of the autoimmune and inflammatory response .CRP has a role in the clearance of bacteria and dying and altered cells through binding to phosphocholine and might also have more complex immunomodulatory functions . CRP function as opsonins for pathogens and dying and apoptotic cells through activation of the complement pathway and through binding to Fcγreceptors , and is associated with the clearance of apoptotic cells and nuclear antigen , thus becoming a protective molecule against pathogenic autoimmune responses in general . Measurement of serum CRP level is in widespread clinical use as a sensitive marker of inflammation and autoimmune disease , particularly in relation to the use of the CRP-based disease activity score in the evaluation of rheumatoid disease.

AIM:To investigate the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on the behavioral changes and the autophagy of hippocampal neurons of the rats with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).METHODS:The Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:control group, model group, fluoxetine group, low-dose ginsenoside Rg1 group and high-dose of ginsenoside Rg1 group.The combination of single prolonged stress and foot stock was performed to induce PTSD-like animal model.The rats in fluoxetine group was administered with fluoxetine by gavage at dose of 10 mg/kg for 21 d, while the rats in low and high doses of ginsenoside Rg1 groups were administered with ginsenoside Rg1 by gavage at doses of 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg for 21 d, respectively.The rats in control group and model group were both given saline by gavage for 21 d.The open-field test and stiff behavior test were used to examine the behavioral changes of the rats.The morphological structure and numerical changes of the hippocampal neurons were observed by Nissl-staining method.We adopted immunofluorescence labeling to observe the beclin 1 and LC3 positive hippocampal neurons and the levels of beclin 1 and LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰratio in rat hippocampus.RESULTS:Compared with control group, decreased vertical movement time and horizontal movement time in open-field test and increased rate of stiff behavior in the stiff behavior test were observed in model group.Hippocampal neurons in model group were loosely arranged with vacuole-like structures and different degrees of cell shrinkage in contrast with control group.More beclin 1 and LC3 positive cells were identified, and higher protein levels of beclin 1 and ratio of LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ in model group were found as compared with control group.However, increase in movement in open-field test and decrease in stiff behavior were detected in the rats treated with low-and high-dose ginsenoside Rg1 as compared with the model rats.Meanwhile, vacuole structures, the numbers of beclin 1 and LC3 positive neurons, the protein expression of beclin 1 and LC3, and the total cell numbers were increased.Higher dose of ginsenoside Rg1 had more profound effects on these observed results.CONCLUSION:Ginsenoside Rg1 alleviates the abnormal behaviors in the PTSD rats, which might be related to the inhibition of abnormal autophagy of hippocampal neurons.

Objectives To explore the associations between drug efflux pump gene expression and phenotypic drug resistance as well as gene mutation patterns related to drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Methods Forty-five Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates resistant to one or more of drugs including isoniazid, rifampicin, streptomycin and ethambutol, and 26 isolates all sensitive to the above four drugs from Tianjin Tuberculosis Control Institute in 2007 were involved in this study. Direct sequencing was applied to detect the mutations in the corresponding resistance genes(isoniazid:katG, inhA, oxyR-ahpC, ndh, rifampicin:rpoB, streptomycin:rpsL, rrs, and ethambutol:embB, embC and embA). After RNA extration and reverse transcription, real-time PCR was conducted to assess the expressions of putative drug efflux pump genes Rv1410c, Rv2136c, Rv0783c and Rv2136c, and Students' t test and ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the expression differences in Mycobacterium tuberculosis with different phenotypic drug resistance and drug resistance related gene mutation patterns.Results Compared to pan-sensitive isolates[(5.67±3.29)×10-5], Rv1410c showed higher expression in streptomycin[(8.48±6.33)×10-5, t'=2.18, P<0.05], isoniazid[(8.43±6.38)×10-5, t'=2.20, P<0.05], rifampicin[(9.59±7.27)×10-5, t'=2.29, P<0.05], multi-drug[(10.37±7.86)×10-5, t'=2.34, P<0.05] resistant isolates, and in isoniazid + streptomycin resistant isolates[(9.39±6.81)×10-5, t'=2.43, P<0.05];Rv2136c showed higher expression in isoniazid resistant[(3.51±2.43)×10-5, t'=2.03, P<0.05], multidrug-resistant isolates[(4.21±2.94)×10-5, t'=2.22, P<0.05] and resistant to isoniazid+streptomycin[(3.81±2.46)×10-5, t'=2.28, P<0.05] isolates . The expression of Rv0783c in rifampicin resistant isolates with rpoB 531 mutations [(5.41±3.03)×10-6] was higher than those with wild type of rpoB 531[(2.29±1.62)×10-6, t=2.81, P<0.05].Conclusions The expression of Rv1410c and Rv2136c are associated with mutiple-drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.The expression of Rv0783c in rifampicin resistant isolates is associated with mutation in rpoB 531.

To evaluate the diagnostic value and safety of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in patients with biopsy-negative malignant gastrointestinal stricture, a retrospective analysis was performed on data of patients whose computed tomography scan showed gastrointestinal malignant tumor with complete lumen stricture and endoscopic biopsy results showed negative, who underwent EUS-FNA in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from July 2016 to January 2020. Perioperative complications, technical success rate and accuracy of EUS-FNA were analyzed. Eleven cases included in the study, including 7 males and 4 females, with mean age of 60.3 years. There were 8 esophageal strictures and 3 rectal strictures. All patients successfully underwent EUS-FNA, and malignant tumor was found in 10 cases and no tumor cell was found in 1 case. No complications were reported. EUS-FNA is a safe and valuable approach to diagnosing biopsy-negative malignant gastrointestinal strictures.

Endoscopic data of 108 upper gastrointestinal elevated lesions caused by vascular or hemangioma compression by endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changshu No.1 People's Hospital, Kushan Hospital of Chinese Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Changshu from December 2010 to June 2019 were retrospectively summarized. The results showed that lesions were mainly located in the esophagus [50.9% (55/108)] and stomach [47.2% (51/108)], especially in the middle [40.0% (22/55)] and upper esophagus [36.4% (20/55)], body [66.7% (34/51)] and fundus of stomach [31.4% (16/51)], respectively. The major etiology included splenic artery and aneurysm compression [29.6% (32/108)], aortic compression [23.1% (25/108)], isolated esophageal venous aneurysm compression [13.9% (15/108)] and gastric submucosal vein and venous aneurysm compression [12.0% (13/108)], with diverse endoscopic presentation. The above results suggest that elevated lesions of upper gastrointestinal tract caused by blood vessels and hemangiomas are mostly due to external vascular pressure outside the lumen, but ectopic submucosal arteries and isolated phlebangioma are not uncommon. The lesions are widely distributed with different gastroscopic manifestations. EUS is important for definite diagnosis, and can be combined with color Doppler technique, CT plain scan and angiographic reconstruction if necessary.

Objective:To investigate the features of endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis of malignant mediastinal and abdominal lymphadenopathy and to provide more evidence for endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiraiton (EUS-FNA).Methods:A case-control study was performed on 83 consecutive patients who underwent EUS in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from September 2016 to February 2021. Lymph node properties were identified by pathological results of EUS-FNA and (or) surgery and follow-up for at least 6 months. According to the final diagnosis, patients were divided into malignant lymph node group ( n=56) and benign lymph node group ( n=27). Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic analysis were performed to identify independent risk factors for malignant lymphadenopathy in terms of EUS features. Results:Univariate analysis showed that the length of short axis, short-long axis ratio, shape, border, presence or absence of hilum, heterogeneous echo, and the growth pattern of lymph node were risk factors for malignant lymph nodes ( P<0.10). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that short axis>10 mm ( P=0.021, OR=9.751, 95% CI: 1.407-57.573), clear border ( P=0.009, OR=20.587, 95% CI: 2.149-197.251), absence of hilum ( P=0.019, OR=28.502, 95% CI: 1.725-470.864), nodal matting ( P=0.004, OR=45.539, 95% CI: 3.429-604.822), partial nodal fusion ( P=0.004, OR=50.012, 95% CI: 3.497-715.266) were independent risk factors for malignant mediastinal and abdominal lymph nodes. Conclusion:EUS is useful to differentiate the lymph node properties in the mediastinal or abdominal cavity. Short axis>10 mm, clear border, absence of hilum, nodal matting and partial nodal fusion are high-risk EUS features of malignant mediastinal or abdominal lymphadenopathy, where priority should be given to EUS-FNA.

Objective To investigate the value of F-actin autoantibodies in the serum of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE),and to explore the relationships between F-actin autoantibodies and other clinical indicators.Methods ELISA was established to detect serum levels of F-actin autoantibodies in 93 inpatients with SLE from March 2017 to January 2018 (case group,n=93),72 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (disease control group) and 83 healthy subjects (healthy control group) were included during the same period.The positive rates of F-actin autoantibodies between the case group and the two control group were compared.Clinical data including SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI),immuno-globulin (lg)G,erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),anti-dsDNA,and antinuclear antibody (ANA) of 93 patients with SLE were collected and the correlation analysis between F-actin autoantibodies units was applied respectively.The diagnostic performance of F-actin autoantibodies in SLE was analyzed by using the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).T test,Chi-square test and Spearman/Pearson correlation analysis were applied for statistical analysis.Results The serum levels of F-actin autoantibodies in the SLE case group,disease control group,and healthy control group were (18±13),(12±6),and (11±5) U,respectively,the differences between SLE case group and disease control group,and healthy control group were significant (t=3.163,P=0.001 9;t=4.436,P＜0.01).The positive rates of F-actin autoantibodies were 33％(31/93) in patients with SLE,10％(7/72) in disease control group,and 4％(3/83) in healthy control group.The F-actin autoanti-bodies units in SLE were correlated with SLEDAI,IgG,ESR,anti-dsDNA,and ANA (r=0.273 7,P=0.008 3;r=0.558 7,P＜0.01;r=0.419 9,P=0.000 1,r=0.351 4,P=0.001 1,r=0.460 9,P＜0.01),in which F-actin autoantibodies units showed significant correlation with IgG and ANA.In the ROC curve,the area under the curve(AUC) was 0.62 [95％CI(0.54,0.70)],P=0.001 3.which was statistically significant.When the cut-off value of the F-actin autoantibodies was 14.04 U,the Youden's index (YI) was the largest (YI=0.30),and the sen-sitivity for the diagnosis of SLE was 0.77,the specificity was 0.53.Conclusion The positive rate of F-actin autoantibodies in the serum of patients with SLE is higher than that of RA and healthy controls,so it has certain diagnostic value for SLE.The F-actin autoantibodies units is correlated with both SLEDAI,ESR,and anti-dsDNA,suggesting that F-actin autoantibodies units may be a new biomarker for disease activity assessment of SLE patients.

To compare the efficacy, safety and economic cost of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided puncture sclerotherapy and laparoscopic decapitation decompression for the renal cysts in the upper pole, data of patients with renal cysts in the upper pole who received EUS-guided puncture sclerotherapy (the EUS group, n=9) or laparoscopic decapitation decompression (the laparoscopy group, n=16) in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2021 to August 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. The effective rate, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, incidence of complications, hospital stay and treatment cost of the EUS group and the laparoscopy group were compared. Results showed that the effective rate was comparable in the EUS group and laparoscopy group (9/9 VS 14/16, P=0.520). The operation time was shorter (29.8±4.8 min VS 70.1±11.1 min, t=10.207, P<0.001), intraoperative blood loss less (0 mL VS 26.1±5.9 mL, t=13.089, P<0.001), postoperative hospital stay shorter (3.5±0.7 days VS 5.4±2.0 days, t=2.663, P=0.014), and total cost lower (10 547.85±2 388.19 yuan VS 15 316.09±5 352.45 yuan, t=2.517, P=0.019) in the EUS group compared with those in the laparoscopy group. There was no significant difference in the total hospital stay (8.1±2.0 days VS 9.3±3.1 days, t=1.019, P=0.319) or operation cost (3 946.79±490.82 yuan VS 3 860.18±857.42 yuan, t=-0.277, P=0.784) between the EUS group and laparoscopy group. There was 1 case of puncture bleeding, 1 case of hematuria, and 1 case of lumbago in the laparoscopy group, while no complication occurred in the EUS group. In conclusion, it is preliminarily believed that EUS-guided puncture sclerotherapy for renal cysts in the upper pole has similar clinical effects with higher safety, shorter postoperative hospital stay and lower total hospitalization cost compared with those of laparoscopic decapitation decompression, which is worth of clinical promotion.

Objective:To evaluate the preoperative localization value of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle tattooing (EUS-FNT) for laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy in pancreatic lesions with a maximum diameter ≤3 cm.Methods:From November 2017 to October 2022, at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, the data of patients with pancreatic lesions ≤3 cm who underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy were retrospectively analyzed. Eight patients who underwent EUS-FNT assisted laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy were included in the fine needle tattooing (FNT) combined laparoscopic group. And 14 patients who underwent simple laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy were taken as the simple laparoscopic group. The success rate and complications of EUS-FNT were observed. The differences in operation time, surgery-related complications and complete resection rate of lesions between the two groups were compared. Mann-Whitney U test and descriptive analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results:In the FNT combined laparoscopic group, the lesions of 4 cases were located in the pancreatic body and 4 cases in the pancreatic tail. In the simple laparoscopic group, the lesions of 4 cases were located in the pancreatic body and 10 cases in the pancreatic tail. There was a significant difference in lesion size between the two groups (14.5 mm (10.8 mm, 16.5 mm) vs. 27.0 mm (23.5 mm, 30.0 mm), Z=-3.09, P=0.001). In the FNT combined laparoscopic group, EUS-FNT was successfully performed in all 8 patients. The average time of laparoscopy after EUS-FNT was (98.4±8.8) min. The marks were clearly visible under the laparoscopic field of view, and no complications such as abdominal hemorrhage and hematoma were observed. Laparoscopic pancreaticocaudectomy was performed in 5 cases and pancreaticocaudectomy plus splenectomy in 3 cases. The median operation time was 192.5 min (176.3 min, 203.8 min). The amount of intraoperative bleeding was large in 2 patients and blood transfusion was needed. The lesions were one-time completely resected in all 8 patients. The postoperative pathology were 6 cases of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm, 1 case of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and 1 case of solid pseudopapilloma. In the simple laparoscopic group, laparoscopic pancreaticocaudectomy was performed in 2 cases and pancreaticocaudectomy plus splenectomy in 12 cases. The median operation time was 202.5 min (192.8 min, 235.0 min), which was longer than that of FNT combined laparoscopic group, but the difference was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). The amount of intraoperative bleeding was large in 2 patients and blood transfusion was needed. In 1 patient with pancreatic body lesions, no lesion was found in the specimen examination after the first pancreatectomy, and the lesions were completely resected after the second partial pancreatectomy. Active abdominal hemorrhage occurred in 1 patient on the second day after operation, and underwent interventional embolization for hemostasis. Two weeks after surgery, 1 patient was found to have a encapsulated fluid with a long diameter of 6 cm around the pancreas by computed tomography re-examination 2 weeks after surgery. The postoperative pathology were 5 cases of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm, 2 cases of IPMN, 1 case of solid pseudopapilloma, 1 case of pancreatic cyst with glandular low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, 1 case of ectopic spleen, and 4 cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Conclusion:EUS-FNT can effectively localize small pancreatic lesions before laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy, shorten the operation time and improve the complete resection rate under laparoscopy.

Humans ; Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Pancreas ; Needles