Objective To study the differences of chromosomal structure among Yersinia pestis strains isolated from China,and to investigate the reasons of chromosomal rearrangement events occurred in Yersinia pestis as well as the possibility of strain identification and phylogenetic analysis based on the chromosomal rearrangement features.Methods According to the genome sequence data downloaded from web of National Center for Biotechnology Information (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome),alignment of all the coding sequences (CDSs) among five strains(American strain CO92 as reference and other four completely sequenced strains from Inner Mongolia,Jianchuan of Yunnan,Yulong of Yunnan,Naqu of Tibet in China named 91001,D182038,D106004 and Z176003 as comparison strains) was performed,and then the chromosome of Yersinia pestis was divided into several large DNA segments (named chromosomal plate in the text) according to the similarity of CDSs.Plate arrangement patterns in each strain' s chromosome and gene content of breakpoint regions were determined.Finally,genetic relationships among Yersinia pestis strains were analyzed on the basis of rearrangement diversity from paired-comparison.Results Yersinia pestis chromosomes of strains CO92,D182038,D106004,91001 were composed of 44 relatively independent plates,except strain Z176003.Gene order was very stable within each plate,while it was movable between the plates.Comparing with the reference strain CO92,13 rearrangement events occurred in the chromosomes of both strain D182038 and strain D106004,and 14 rearrangement events involved in Z176003,while 37 rearrangement events occurred in 91001.Paired-comparison data showed that only 8 plates order differences were existed between D106004 and Z176003.Forty-three breakpoint regions were identified on the chromosome of strain CO92,and 39 of them contained insertion sequences,and 25 of them were IS100.Conclusions Yersinia pestis genome represents a high degree of genetic flux,and chromosomal structures of strains are significantly different from each other.Chromosomal rearrangement events is closely related to the large number of insertion sequences in the Yersinia pestis chromosome.Rearrangement diversity among Yersinia pestis strains could reflect their genetic relationships.

ObjectiveTo study the anatomical abnormalities of basal ganglia and research their influence on depression status in patients with post stroke depression (PSD)by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of MRI.MethodsPatients with basal ganglia infarction were recruited,and divided into groups of PSD and non depression control group by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) assessment. All the patients were evaluated with National Institute of Health Stroke Scale ( NIHSS). And the patients were checked by DTI sequence.Fractional anisotropy (FA),average diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and the number of nerve fiber were measured in bilateral caudatum,pallidum,putamen and thalamus.ResultsThe score of NIHSS (6.29 ± 3.45 ) was significantly higher in PSD group than that in non-depression group (3.95 ± 1.90 ;t =2.219,P =0.036). No significant difference was found between the two groups for the DTI data of the basal ganglia nuclei ( t =0.056-1.618,all P ＞ 0.05 ). Compared with contralateral construction (0.40 ± 0.02 ),the FA value decreased in the left putamen ( 0.37 ± 0.03 ) in the PSD group ( t =2.243,P =0.045 ).By Spearman correlations analysis,the HAMD score was positively correlated with NIHSS score ( r =0.464,P =0.017 ),and negatively correlated with the FA values of left pallidum (r=-0.563,P=0.005),right pallidum (r=-0.416,P=0.035) and left putamen (r =-0.428,P =0.029).Conclusions The occurrence of PSD was associated with neurological functional deficit following basal ganglia infarction.The depression level was correlated with the increasing of NIHSS score,the reductions in bilateral pallidum and left putamen FA values.This research contributes to evaluation of the PSD status in patients with basal ganglia infarction.

Burkholderia ; isolation & purification ; China ; Humans ; Melioidosis

PURPOSE: Studies have found that long noncoding RNA HEIH (lncRNA-HEIH) is upregulated and facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma tumor growth. However, its clinical significances, roles, and action mechanism in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unidentified. MATERIALS AND METHODS: lncRNA-HEIH expression in CRC tissues and cell lines was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Cell CountingKit-8, ethynyl deoxyuridine incorporation assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining, and nude mice xenografts assays were performed to investigate the roles of lncRNA-HEIH. RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and luciferase reporter assays were performed to investigate the action mechanisms of lncRNA-HEIH. RESULTS: In this study, we found that lncRNA-HEIH is significantly increased in CRC tissues and cell lines. lncRNA-HEIH expression is positively associated with tumor size, invasion depth, and poor prognosis of CRC patients. Enhanced expression of lncRNA-HEIH promotes CRC cell proliferation and decreases apoptosis in vitro, and promotes CRC tumor growth in vivo. Whereas knockdown of lncRNA-HEIH inhibits CRC cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in vitro, and suppresses CRC tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, lncRNA-HEIH physically binds to miR-939. The interaction between lncRNA-HEIH and miR-939 damages the binding between miR-939 and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), increases the binding of NF-κB to Bcl-xL promoter, and promotes the transcription and expression of Bcl-xL. Moreover, Bcl-xL expression is positively associatedwith lncRNA-HEIH in CRC tissues. Blocking the interaction between lncRNA-HEIH and miR-939 abolishes the effects of lncRNA-HEIH on CRC tumorigenesis. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that lncRNA-HEIH promotes CRC tumorigenesis through counteracting miR-939-mediated transcriptional repression of Bcl-xL, and suggested that lncRNA-HEIH may serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for CRC.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Carcinogenesis* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Deoxyuridine ; DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Immunoprecipitation ; In Vitro Techniques ; Luciferases ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Prognosis ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Repression, Psychology* ; RNA ; RNA, Long Noncoding*

OBJECTIVETo study the types of subspecies of Francisella tularensis from China and to investigate the genetic relationships between F. tularensis strains from China and from other countries.

METHODSTen strains of F. tularensis isolated from China were amplified by using typing primers C1/C4 and RD1. On the basis of the lengths of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products, it was concluded that these strains of F. tularensis belonged to the same subspecies. At the same time, the fopA, tul4, and 16S rRNA genes of the 10 strains were amplified, and a three-gene based phylogenetic analysis was performed using the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis software version 4.0.

RESULTSThe 10 strains of F. tularensis from China were all identified as belonging to subspecies holarctica (type B). We found no direct relationship between the genotypes of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica and the geographical area from where they were isolated.

CONCLUSIONThe F. tularensis strains isolated from North China mainly belong to subspecies holarctica (type B). The strains of F. tularensis subsp. holarctica from China may have evolved earlier than those from Europe and North America.

China ; Francisella tularensis ; classification ; genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny