OBJECTIVETo detect rare types of thalassemia mutations among southern Chinese population.

METHODSPeripheral blood samples from 327 patients from various regions of southern China were collected. The patients were suspected as rare-type thalassemia for their inconsistency between hematological phenotypes and results of routine mutation screening. The samples were further analyzed with GAP-PCR and DNA sequencing.

RESULTSOne hundred and eight cases were diagnosed as rare types of thalassemia. Among whom 10 rare α-globin gene mutations including --THAI, HKα, αααanti3.7, αααanti4.2, -α2.8, -α27.6, CD74 GAC>CAC (Hb Q-Thailand), CD30 (-GAG), CD31 AGG>AAG and CD118 (+TCA), and 12 rare β-globin gene mutations including CD37 TGG>TAG, CD39 CAG>TAG/CD39 CAG>TAG, β II-2 (-T), -90(C>T), -31(A>C), -88(C>T), CD7(-A), CD138(+T), CD89-93 (--AGTGAGCTGCACTG), CD54-58 (-TATGGGCAACCCT), Chinese G γ +(A γδβ)0 and Vietnamese HPFH (HPFH-6) were identified. -88(C>T) (HBB: c.-138C>T) and CD39 CAG>TAG (HBB: c.118C>T) were discovered for the first time in Chinese population. CD7(-A) (HBB: c.23delA) and CD138(+T) (HBB: c.416_417insT) were new types of β-globin gene mutations.

CONCLUSIONThe present study have enriched the mutation spectrum of thalassemia in southern China, which has provided necessary information for its diagnosis.

Humans ; Mutation ; Thalassemia ; genetics ; alpha-Globins ; genetics ; beta-Globins ; genetics

Objective:To investigate the relationship between peritoneal thickness and baseline solute transport function in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, and analyze the factors affecting the function of peritoneal transport.Methods:Non-diabetic end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients admitted to the Second Hospital of Longyan City from January 2017 to June 2019 were enrolled in this study. The thickness of the peritoneal membrane was measured by color ultrasound instrument before the peritoneal catheterization. Standard peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was performed after one month of peritoneal dialysis. The ratio of corrected creatine in 4 h dialysate to 2 h serum creatine (D/Pcr) was used as a solute baseline transport index, and according to the D/Pcr evaluation results, the patients were divided into high/high average transfer (H) group (D/Pcr≥0.65) and low/low average transfer (L) group (D/Pcr<0.65). The clinical data, peritoneal thickness and peritoneal dialysis related indicators between the two groups of patients were compared. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the factors affecting the function of peritoneal transport.Results:The amount of peritoneal ultrafiltration in H group was significantly lower than that in L group, intraperitoneal creatinine clearance (Ccr) and peritoneal thickness were significantly higher than those in L group (both P<0.05). Pearson and Spearman correlation results showed that the thickness of peritoneal membrane positively correlated with D/Pcr ( r=0.673, P<0.05), peritoneal Ccr ( r=0.261, P<0.05), and negatively correlated with ultrafiltration of peritoneal dialysis ( r=-0.365, P<0.05). Partial correlation analysis showed that the peritoneal thickness was positively correlated with the solute transport index D/Pcr ( r=0.539, P<0.05) and the peritoneal Ccr ( r=0.338, P<0.05). Binary logistic regression results showed that peritoneal thickening was a risk factor affecting peritoneal transport function ( OR=1.175, 95% CI 1.009-1.369, P<0.05). Conclusions:There is a positive correlation between the peritoneal membrane thickness and the baseline solute transport index in patients with non-diabetic peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal thickening is a risk factor affecting peritoneal transport function.

ObjectiveTo conduct a systematic comparative study on wild and cultivated Codonopsis pilosula（CP） from three aspects， including characters， microscopy， and contents of primary and secondary metabolites. MethodWild and cultivated CP samples were collected， their characters were measured using vernier caliper， tape measure and balance， the paraffin sections were stained with safranin-fixed green dyeing， and their microstructure were observed under the optical microscope. The content of alcohol-soluble extracts in wild and cultivated CP was determined according to the method for determination of extract under CP in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia， the starch content was determined by anthrone colorimetry， the content of total polysaccharides was determined by kit method， Fiber analyzer was used to determine the content of fiber components， and ultra performance liquid chromatography（UPLC） was used to determine the content of monosaccharides， disaccharides and some secondary metabolites. Multivariate statistical analysis methods such as principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were employed to screen key differential components between wild and cultivated CP on the basis of variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1 and P<0.05. ResultIn terms of morphological characteristics， the "lion's head-like" shape， longitudinal wrinkles， and circumferential wrinkles below the root cap of wild CP were more pronounced in wild CP compared to the cultivated ones. Regarding transverse sectional features， wild CP had more fissures on the outer side of the cortex and a larger duramen. Under microscopic examination， wild CP had more stone cells， a larger proportion of xylem， and the presence of cork cells arranged in rings in the xylem， while cultivated CP has a larger proportion of phloem， smaller vessel diameters， and a more loosely arranged vascular system. In terms of primary metabolites， the contents of 45% ethanol-soluble extract and total polysaccharides in cultivated CP were significantly higher than those in the wild ones（P<0.05）， the contents of lignin， hemicellulose， cellulose， fructose and glucose in wild CP were significantly higher than those in the cultivated ones（P<0.05）， while sucrose content in the cultivated CP was significantly higher than that in the wild ones（P<0.05）. Concerning secondary metabolites， the contents of tryptophan and tangshenoside Ⅰ in cultivated CP were significantly higher than those in the wild ones（P<0.05）， whereas the contents of lobetyolinin， lobetyol and atractylenolide Ⅲ in wild CP were significantly higher than those in the cultivated ones（P<0.05）. ConclusionThere are significant differences between wild and cultivated CP in terms of morphological characteristics， microscopic features and chemical composition. Glucose， fructose， sucrose， tangshenoside Ⅰ， tryptophan and cellulose components are the key differential components between wild and cultivated CP. Wild CP contains more polyacetylenes and fructose， whereas cultivated CP has higher levels of tangshenoside Ⅰ and sucrose， with noticeably lower cellulose content. These distinctions may be related to their growth conditions， growth years and cultivation techniques. Based on the results of this study， it is recommended to increase polyacetylenes and the content ratio of fructose to sucrose as an indicators to characterize different production methods of CP， in order to guide the high-quality production of CP.