OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis for a fetus with Cardiac-urogenital syndrome (CUGS). METHODS: A fetus with congenital heart disease identified at the Maternal Fetal Medical Center for Fetal Heart Disease, Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University in January 2019 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the fetus was collected. Copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) and trio-whole exome sequencing (trio-WES) were carried out for the fetus and its parents. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Detailed fetal echocardiographic examination had revealed hypoplastic aortic arch. The results of trio-WES revealed that the fetus has harbored a de novo splice variant of the MYRF gene (c.1792-2A>C), for which both parents were of the wild-type. Sanger sequencing confirmed the variant to be de novo. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), the variant was rated as likely pathogenic. CNV-seq has identified no chromosomal anomalies. And the fetus was diagnosed with Cardiac-urogenital syndrome. CONCLUSION The de novo splice variant of the MYRF gene probably underlay the abnormal phenotype in the fetus. Above finding has enriched the spectrum of MYRF gene variants.
Female ; Humans ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Fetal Diseases ; Fetus/abnormalities* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/genetics* ; Mutation ; Transcription Factors/genetics*

In China,the surgical technique of liver transplantation has become mature,however,the graft injuries,the personalized-adjustment of the immunosuppression and the rejection after the operation have been increasing prominently.Especially,the un-reversible chronic rejection and the side-effect of the over-dosage or under-dosage immunosuppression should be emphasized.Adopting the liver function examination and the liver-biopsy to monitor the graft function have disadvantages such as traumatic,time-consuming and low sensitivity.Recently,adopting the graft-derived cell-free DNA to monitor the graft health has becoming the research hotspots.The followings summarize the application of the graft-derived cell-free DNA after the operation.

We report a fetus presented with complex cardiac malformations, pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect, detected by fetal echocardiography at 17 +4 weeks. The pregnancy was terminated after routine counseling and genetic tests were performed on umbilical cord of the induced fetus and peripheral blood samples of the parents. Whole-exome sequencing identified a novel maternally-inherited and likely pathogenic variation hemizygous nonsense variant, c.1651C>T (p.Gln551*) in the OTUD5 gene (NM_017602.3), which was confirmed by subsequent Sanger sequencing. The fetus was finally diagnosed as X-linked multiple congenital anomalies-neurodevelopmental syndrome.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. Carvacrol (CAR) has demonstrated the potential to mitigate dyslipidemia. This study aims to investigate whether CAR can modulate blood glucose and lipid levels in a T2DM rat model by regulating short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and the GPR41/43 pathway. The T2DM rat model was induced by a high-fat diet combined with low-dose streptozocin injection and treated with oral CAR and/or mixed antibiotics. Fasting blood glucose, oral glucose tolerance, and insulin tolerance tests were assessed. Serum lipid parameters, hepatic and renal function indicators, tissue morphology, and SCFAs were measured. In vitro, high glucose (HG)-induced IEC-6 cells were treated with CAR, and optimal CAR concentration was determined. HG-induced IEC-6 cells were treated with SCFAs or/and GPR41/43 agonists. CAR significantly reduced blood lipid and glucose levels, improved tissue damage, and increased SCFA levels in feces and GPR41/43 expression in colonic tissues of T2DM rats. CAR also attenuated HG-induced apoptosis of IEC-6 cells and enhanced GPR41/43 expression.Overall, these findings suggest that CAR alleviates blood lipid and glucose abnormalities in T2DM rats by modulating SCFAs and the GPR41/43 pathway.

BACKGROUND:Nanocomposite hydrogel has great research prospects and application potential in the treatment of osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE:To review the research progress of nanocomposite hydrogel in osteoarthritis and cartilage repair. METHODS:Databases such as CNKI and PubMed were searched.The English key words were"nanocomposite hydrogel,nanogel,osteoarthritis,cartage,physical encapsulation,electrostatic interaction,covalent crosslinking",and the Chinese key words were"nanocomposite hydrogel,nanogel,osteoarthritis,cartage,physical encapsulation,physical encapsulation,electrostatic effect,covalent cross-linking".After an initial screening of all articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria,71 articles with high correlation were retained for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In cell or animal experiments,nanocomposite hydrogel has the effect of improving osteoarthritis.Nanocomposite hydrogel can promote cartilage repair,improve the internal environment of osteoarthritis,and achieve the therapeutic purpose of osteoarthritis by improving the mechanical environment between joints,carrying targeted drugs,and promoting the chondrogenesis of seed cells.At present,the research of nanocomposite hydrogel in osteoarthritis disease still has a huge space to play.It is expected to open up a new way for the clinical treatment of osteoarthritis by continuing to deepen the research of material preparation and actively carrying out cell and animal experiments.

Objective To evaluate the curative effect of trans-anal surgery vs.conventional laparoscopic surgery in treating sigmoid and high-rectum tumor.Methods From Jan 2014 to Mar 2017,100 patients in Beijing Friendship Hospital participated in this clinical study.45 patients underwent transanal surgery and 55 patients underwent conventional laparoscopic surgery.Results No significant difference was found between trans-anal surgery group and the traditional laparoscopic group in terms of operation time,blood loss,the use of analgesic drugs and the radical evaluation of tumor.While the postoperative pain scores in trans-anal surgery group (2.0 ± 1.0 vs.2.6 ± 1.0,t =2.9,P =0.005) were lower than those in the conventional group.The follow-up data showed one case of local tumor recurrence and one case of multiple peritoneal metastasis in the trans-anal surgery group,compared to two cases of liver metastasis and one case dying of pneumonia in the conventional laparoscopic group.The remaining cases were of no local recurrence,nor distant metastases or any critical complications.Conclusions Trans-anal surgery in the treatment of sigmoid and high-rectum tumor is safe,reliable and having the same clinical efficacy with conventional laparoscopic surgery.

Objective To analyze the echocardiographic findings , associated anomalies and chromosomal characteristics in fetuses with pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect ( PA/VSD ) . Methods T he echocardiographic data and follow‐up materials were retrospectively reviewed in 30 256 fetuses from December 2012 to M arch 2018 in the consultation center of fetal heart disease in maternal‐fetal medicine in Anzhen hospital . Of all the fetuses ,59 cases ( 0 .19% ) had PA/VSD . T he echocardiographic findings ,associated anomalies and chromosomal characteristics were retrospectively analyzed in all the 59 fetuses with PA/VSD . Based on w hether the presence of the native pulmonary arteries and the major aortopulmonary collateral arteries ( M APCAs) or not ,the PA‐VSD was classified into type A ,type B ,and type C . Results A large ventricular defect was demonstrated in five‐chamber view with 61 .7% of the mean ratio of the aortic overriding . O ther fetal echocardiographic features of all the 59 fetuses with PA/VSD included :the right aortic arch ( n ＝19 ) ,reversal flow in the ductus arteriosus ( n ＝40 ) ,M APCAs ( n ＝24) . T he classification of the PA/VSD included :type A ( n ＝35) ,type B ( n ＝5) and type C ( n ＝19) . Associated anomalies :persistent left superior vena cava ( n ＝ 13 ) ,anomalous pulmonary vein connection ( n＝5 ) ,complete atrioventricular septal defect ( n ＝ 5 ) ; single umbilical artery ( n ＝ 3 ) ,right atrial isomerism ( n ＝3) . Of all the 30 cases performed chromosomal test ,3 cases had aneuploidy and 7 cases had microdeletion of chromosome . Conclusions The fetal echocardiographic findings of the PA/VSD are characteristic . For prenatal diagnosis of PA/VSD ,the type of PA/VSD should be defined and chromosomal test should be performed ,w hich can be helpful for prenatal consulting .

We reported two fetal cases diagnosed with Smith-Magenis syndrome.One case was found with bilateral ventriculomegaly,double-outlet right ventricle,pulmonary stenosis and ventricular septal defect when performing fetal echocardiography.Then the fetus was diagnosed with severe tetralogy of Fallot and tortuous ductus arteriosus by autopsy.The other case was suggested to have tetralogy of Fallot,right aortic arch and ectopic ductus arteriosus by fetal echocardiography,which was later confirmed by autopsy.Both of the two pregnancies were terminated.Tissue samples of the two fetuses were analyzed by the low-coverage whole-genome sequencing,and both cases carried a microdeletion of 3.63 Mb and 4.86 Mb in chromosome 17pl 1.2,which overlapped with the missing segments causing Smith-Magenis syndrome.Therefore,the two fetuses were both diagnosed with Smith-Magenis syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical features and spectrum of genetic variants in 12 patients with Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS), and to explore the correlation between the type of genetic variants and clinical phenotypes. METHODS: Twelve patients suspected for LDS at Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2015 to January 2022 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the patients were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and subjected to genetic testing. Pathogenicity of candidate variants was analyzed. RESULTS: The clinical phenotypes of the 12 patients have mainly included cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, craniofacial, skin, ocular and other systemic signs. Four patients (patients 5-1, 5-2, 6, 7) have carried heterozygous missense variants of the TGFBR1 gene, 5 patients (patients 1-1, 1-2, 2, 3, 4) have carried heterozygous variants of the TGFBR2 gene, and 2 patients (patients 8-1, 8-2) had carried heterozygous frameshift variants of the TGFB3 gene. One patient (patient 9) had carried a heterozygous missense variant of the SMAD3 gene. Among these, TGFBR1 c.603T>G (p.1201M) and TGFB3 c.536delA (p.H179FS35) had not been reported previously. CONCLUSION Variants of the TGFBR1, TGFBR2, SMAD3, TGFB2, TGFB3 and SMAD2 genes are mainly associated with LDS. The severity of the disease phenotype caused by the same variant may vary, whilst the clinical phenotype caused by different variant sites may be specific.
Humans ; Loeys-Dietz Syndrome/genetics* ; Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type I/genetics* ; Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type II/genetics* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta3 ; Face

Objective According investigate the expression of NLRP3 in liver tissues of mice with hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI),to determin the role of NLRP3 in the process of HIRI.Methods Established mice model of partial HIRI.Forty-two male C57BL/6 mice (aged 7 to 8 weeks,weight 20 to 25 g) were respectively divided into 7 groups:no-treatment control group,sham operation group,HIRI groups (2、6、12、24 h) and CY-09 group,6 mice in each group.The injury of the hepatic tissues in the 7 groups was analyzed based on detecting the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT),aspartate transaminase (AST),interleukin-1β (IL-1β),interleukin-18 (IL-18),tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by ELISA.HE and TUNEL staining were used to observe the pathological changes of liver tissues after HIRI.Western blotting assay were carried out to detect the expressions of NLRP3 and Caspase-1.Measurement data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (Mean ± SD),and one-way variance analysis was used for comparison between groups.If the variance was not uniform,Dunnett C test was used.Results Serum ALT,AST,IL-1 β,IL-18 and TNF-α of mice detected in HIRI groups were higher than no-treatment control group and sham operation group at all endpoints (P ＜ 0.05).The relative expression of NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in the liver tissues of mice in the HIRI groups were significantly higher than that in the no-treatment control group and sham operation group.Serum ALT,AST,IL-1β,IL-18 and TNF-α of mice detected in CY-09 group were lower than HIRI groups at all endpoints (P ＜ 0.05).Less hepatocellular necrosis were exhibited in CY-09 group,comparing to HIRI groups.The hepatocyte apoptosis rate of mice in the CY-09 group was significantly lower than that in the 12 h HIRI group (P ＜ 0.05).The relative expression of NLRP3 in the liver tissues of mice in the CY-09 group was significantly lower than that in other groups.The relative expression of Caspase-1 in the liver tissues of mice in the CY-09 group was significantly lower than that in other groups except the no-treatment control group and sham operation group.Conclusions HIRI cause an increase in NLRP3 expression.The inhibition of NLRP3 can reduce HIRI.