Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otosclerosis ; surgery ; Stapes Surgery ; methods

OBJECTIVETo explore the potential value of knowing the relationship between congenital auricular deformities and middle ear malformations.

METHODSA total of 86 patients with congenital auricular deformities and middle ear malformations, including 51 males and 35 females, were admitted from January 2008 to December 2009 to the Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University. Fifty-eight patients had unilateral deformities (R:L = 34:24), while 28 were bilateral. One hundred and fourteen ears with congenital auricular deformities were included. High-resolution CT (HRCT) data was obtained from each patient. The auricular deformities were classified into three grades using the Marx H classification system. The modified Jahrsdoerfer grading system was used to score the malformations using HRCT data. The correlation between the grades of auricular deformities and scores of middle ear malformations was analyzed using Spearman rank correlation analysis.

RESULTSThe Marx H grades of congenital auricular deformities were 12 patients with grade I, 25 patients with grade II and 77 patients with grade III, while their corresponding Jahrsdoerfer scores were 7.8 ± 2.4, 6.8 ± 2.6 and 6.0 ± 2.8, respectively. The statistical analysis suggested a trend of negative correlation between the Marx H grades of auricular deformities and the Jahrsdoerfer scores of middle ear malformations (r = -0.2386, P = 0.0106).

CONCLUSIONThere was a trend to a negative correlation between congenital auricular deformities and middle ear malformations.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Ear Diseases ; congenital ; diagnostic imaging ; Ear, External ; abnormalities ; Ear, Middle ; abnormalities ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Radiography ; Young Adult

The present study was to explore the functional and morphological changes in cochleas of guinea pig models of early endolymphatic hydrops. Thirty albino guinea pigs were randomly divided into three groups: control, 4-week model and 8-week model groups. For each group, n = 10. Model groups were operated on the right ears to result in endolymphatic hydrops with the method of slight destruction of endolymphatic sac and duct from extradural posterior cranial fossa approach, and the animals in control group were sham operated. Electrocochleogram recorded by trans-tympanic approach and auditory brainstem response (ABR) were tested in preoperative model groups, control group, 4-week model group and 8-week model group to assess the hearing changes. Histologic morphometry was used to quantify hydrops by testing scala media area (SMA) ratio. Scanning electron microscope was used to assess the changes of cochlea hair cells. The results showed that the summating potential/compound action potential (SP/AP) ratio of electrocochleogram in 4-week model group (0.33 ± 0.14) and 8-week model group (0.43 ± 0.14) increased significantly, compared with that in control group (0.07 ± 0.06). The maximum SMA ratio in 4-week model group (2.64 ± 0.10) and 8-week model group (3.54 ± 0.13) increased significantly, compared with that in control group (1.06 ± 0.08). The results of maximum SMA ratio correlated with SP/AP ratio of electrocochleogram (r = 0.86). The results of hearing threshold of ABR revealed that the operated ears of model groups were higher than the preoperative results at frequencies of 2 kHz and 4 kHz. And the damage of cochlea hair cells in operated ears occurred in apical and subapical turns. These results suggest the increased SP/AP ratio of electrocochleogram can indicate early endolymphatic hydrops. There is low-tone hearing loss in guinea pig models of early endolymphatic hydrops, and it may be associated with the abnormalities of the stereocilia among the outer hair cells in operated ears which occurs in apical and subapical turns.
Animals ; Cochlea ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Endolymphatic Hydrops ; complications ; physiopathology ; Guinea Pigs ; Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer ; pathology ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; etiology ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Male

ObjectiveTo evaluate the expression level of DNA damage repair gene FANCI in hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） and its relationship with prognosis， clinical stage and immune infiltration. MethodsIn this study， TCGA， GTEx， TIMER2.0， HPA database and qRT-PCR， western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the expression of FANCI in HCC and its correlation with different clinical stages； Kaplan-Meier Plotter database was used to explore the relationship between FANCI and the prognosis of HCC； the TISIDB database was used to analyze the relationship between FANCI and immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoints in HCC； the STRING database was used to detect the protein binding with FANCI； the TCGA and GTEx databases were used for GO and KEGG enrichment analysis； Cell experiments were used to explore the role of FANCI in HCC. ResultsCompared with normal tissues， the mRNA and protein expression levels of FANCI in tumor tissues were up-regulated （P<0.001）； and HCC patients with high expression of FANCI had poor prognosis （P<0.001）； the expression of FANCI in tumor tissues was positively correlated with the number of activated CD4⁺ T cells， the number of Th2 cells and the expression of immune checkpoints， and B-cell and macrophage infiltration was significantly lower in the FANCI high expression group （P<0.01）； GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that FANCI-related genes were enriched in various biological processes such as amino acid transmembrane transporter activity； Cell experiments showed that knockdown of FANCI could inhibit the proliferation， invasion and migration of HCC （P<0.05）. ConclusionsFANCI is highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues， which may play a role in suppressing anti-tumor immunity and acting on pathways such as amino acid transmembrane transport， and is associated with poor prognosis. The proliferation， invasion and migration ability of hepatocellular carcinoma are inhibited after knocking down FANCI.

Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides (MOO) are an oral drug approved in China for the treatment of depression in China. However, MOO is hardly absorbed so that their anti-depressant mechanism has not been elucidated. Here, we show that oral MOO acted on tryptophan → 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) → serotonin (5-HT) metabolic pathway in the gut microbiota. MOO could increase tryptophan hydroxylase levels in the gut microbiota which accelerated 5-HTP production from tryptophan; meanwhile, MOO inhibited 5-hydroxytryptophan decarboxylase activity, thus reduced 5-HT generation, and accumulated 5-HTP. The raised 5-HTP from the gut microbiota was absorbed to the blood, and then passed across the blood-brain barrier to improve 5-HT levels in the brain. Additionally, pentasaccharide, as one of the main components in MOO, exerted the significant anti-depressant effect through a mechanism identical to that of MOO. This study reveals for the first time that MOO can alleviate depression via increasing 5-HTP in the gut microbiota.