BACKGROUNDThe auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) have been used to treat deafness for patients with neurofibromatosis Type 2 and nontumor patients. The lack of an appropriate animal model has limited the study of improving hearing rehabilitation by the device. This study aimed to establish an animal model of ABI in adult rhesus macaque monkey (Macaca mulatta).

METHODSSix adult rhesus macaque monkeys (M. mulatta) were included. Under general anesthesia, a multichannel ABI was implanted into the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle through the modified suboccipital-retrosigmoid (RS) approach. The electrical auditory brainstem response (EABR) waves were tested to ensure the optimal implant site. After the operation, the EABR and computed tomography (CT) were used to test and verify the effectiveness via electrophysiology and anatomy, respectively. The subjects underwent behavioral observation for 6 months, and the postoperative EABR was tested every two weeks from the 1 st month after implant surgery.

RESULTThe implant surgery lasted an average of 5.2 h, and no monkey died or sacrificed. The averaged latencies of peaks I, II and IV were 1.27, 2.34 and 3.98 ms, respectively in the ABR. One-peak EABR wave was elicited in the operation, and one- or two-peak waves were elicited during the postoperative period. The EABR wave latencies appeared to be constant under different stimulus intensities; however, the amplitudes increased as the stimulus increased within a certain scope.

CONCLUSIONSIt is feasible and safe to implant ABIs in rhesus macaque monkeys (M. mulatta) through a modified suboccipital RS approach, and EABR and CT are valid tools for animal model establishment. In addition, this model should be an appropriate animal model for the electrophysiological and behavioral study of rhesus macaque monkey with ABI.

Animals ; Auditory Brain Stem Implants ; Deafness ; surgery ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; physiology ; Female ; Macaca mulatta ; Male

BACKGROUNDActivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) plays a critical role in the late phase of Th2-dependent allergy induction. STAT6 is essential to Th2 cell differentiation, recruitment, and effector function. Our previous study confirmed that DNA vaccination inhibited STAT6 expression of spleen cells induced by allergen. In the present study, we determined whether DNA vaccine encoding Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus group 2 (Der p2) could down-regulate the expression and activation of STAT6 in lung tissue from asthmatic mice.

METHODSAfter DNA vaccine immunization, BALB/c mice were sensitized by intraperitoneal injection and challenged by intranasal instillation of rDer p2. The levels of the cytokines IL-4 and IL-13 in BAL fluid were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The lung tissue was assessed by immunohistochemical staining with anti-STAT6. The protein expression of STAT6 was determined by Western blot. The activation of STAT6 binding ability was analyzed with electrophoretic mobility shift assay.

RESULTSDNA vaccine encoding Der p2 allergen effectively decreased the levels of IL-4 and IL-13 in the asthmatic mice. Histological evidence and Western blot showed that the expression of STAT6 in the DNA treated mice was markedly attenuated. STAT6 binding to specific DNA motif in lung tissue from the gene vaccinated mice was inhibited.

CONCLUSIONDNA vaccine encoding Der p2 prevents allergic pulmonary inflammation probably by inhibiting the STAT6 signaling pathway in mice with Der p2 allergen-induced allergic airway inflammation.

Animals ; Antigens, Dermatophagoides ; genetics ; immunology ; Arthropod Proteins ; Asthma ; prevention & control ; Down-Regulation ; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay ; Interleukin-13 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Interleukin-4 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Lung ; pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; STAT6 Transcription Factor ; analysis ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics ; Signal Transduction ; Vaccination ; Vaccines, DNA ; therapeutic use

AIMTo examine the expression of prostate cancer antigen-1 (PCA-1) in prostate cancer (PCa) and to validate it as a potential marker for diagnosis of PCa.

METHODSIn situ hybridization analysis of PCA-1 mRNA expression was performed on 40 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), 16 high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasm (HG-PIN), 74 PCa and 34 other malignant carcinoma specimens. The level of PCA-1 expression was semiquantitatively scored by assessing both the percentage and intensity of PCA-1 positive staining cells in the specimens. We then compared the PCA-1 expression between BPH, HG-PIN and PCa and evaluated the correlation of PCA-1 expression level with clinical parameters of PCa.

RESULTSPCA-1 mRNA was expressed in the majority of both PCa and HG-PIN specimens but not in BPH and other malignant carcinoma. The expression level of PCA-1 increased along with a high Gleason score (P < 0.05), and was unrelated to other clinical parameters of PCa (all P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe data suggest that PCA-1 might be a novel diagnostic marker for PCa, and that increased PCA-1 expression might denote more aggressive variants of PCa.

Aged ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; metabolism ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Biopsy ; DNA, Complementary ; metabolism ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism

Aim To investigate the effect of miR-320a up-regulation on the apoptosis and migration of Bel7402 cells induced by ribonucleic acid Ⅱ.Methods The different expression levels of miR-320a in normal liver cells and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells were detected by qRT-PCR.Bel-7402 cell was transfected with miR-320a mimic,and the miR-320a expression levels were measured by qRT-PCR.The effect of ribonucleic acid Ⅱ on proliferation of Bel-7402 and Bel-7402-miR-320a cells was measured by CCK-8 assay,and cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry.The migration and invasion ability of ribonucleic acid Ⅱ on Bel-7402 cells were tested by Transwell method.The expression of p53,Cyclin D1,Bax,Bcl-2,MMP-3 proteins were examined by Western blot.Results miR-320a expression levels in HCC cell line Bel-7402 were significantly lower than those in normal cell line HL-7702.Bel-7402 cells were successfully transfected with miR-320a mimic,named Bel-7402-miR-320a.CCK-8 showed that ribonucleic acid Ⅱ could effectively inhibit the proliferation of Bel7402 and Bel-7402-miR-320a cells in vitro in a dosedependent manner at the range of 100,200,300,400,500 mg · L-1.The IC50 of ribonucleic acid Ⅱexposure on Bel-7402 and Bel-7402-miR-320a cells for 12 h and 24 h was 250,200 mg · L-t and 150,120 mg · L-1,respectively;flow cytometric analysis indicated that over-expression of miR-320a could arrest Bel-7402 and Bel-7402-miR-320a cells induced by ribonucleic acid Ⅱ in G0/G1 phase,and promote the apoptosis of HCC cells.Transwell method showed that Bel-7402-miR-320a + Ribonucleic acid Ⅱ group could significantly inhibit the migration of HCC cells compared with control group and Bel-7402 + Ribonucleic acid Ⅱ group.Western blot results showed that the expression of p53,Bax proteins increased,while the Cyclin D1,Bcl-2,MMP-3 proteins were down-regulated in Bel-7402 and Bel-7402-miR-320a cells induced by ribonucleic acid Ⅱ.Conclusions The expression of miR-320a is lower in HCC cells than that in normal cell line.While ribonucleic acid Ⅱ could promote the apoptosis of liver cancer cells by arresting the cell cycle protein expression of Cyclin D1,activating p53 signaling pathway,down-regulating Bcl-2,up-regulating Bax and destroying Bcl-2/Bax proportions,and inhibiting the migration and invasion of HCC cells by downregulating MMP-3.Overexpression of miR-320a could increase the sensitivity and boost the pharmacological effects of ribonucleic acid Ⅱ on HCC cells.

Objective To evaluate the methodological quality of clinical practice guidelines of rehabilitation using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II.Methods Clinical practice guidelines of rehabilitation were searched in databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, Wanfang database, CNKI, China Biology Medicine disc and related websites from medlive.cn, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, National Guideline Clearinghouse, Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, World Health Organization, and Guidelines International Network from establishment to January 11, 2020. Two researchers reviewed literatures and assessed the methodological quality of the guidelines independently by using AGREE II; any disagreements needed to be discussed in a consensus meeting.Results A total of 84 guidelines were included in the study, with 67 foreign guidelines and 17 domestic guidelines. The average score rate for all the guidelines was 48.1%, in which 49.9% for the foreign guidelines and 40.7% for the domestic guidelines. In the six areas of AGREE II, the average score rate of the foreign guidelines was higher than that of domestic ones (|Z| > 2.034, P < 0.05), expect applicability; the average score rate of clarity and independence improved with the launch of AGREE Ⅱ ( Z > 2.130, P < 0.05). The average scores rate ranged from high to low followed as range and purpose (41.6%), clarity (39.9%), participants (24.5%), rigor (23.2%), independence (15.5%) and applicability (12.9%). Conclusion Clinical practice guidelines of rehabilitation is mainly of low quality by AGREE II. Guideline developers need to work after AGREE Ⅱ standard in the future.

Objective: To evaluate the auditory efficacy and subjective satisfaction of adhesive bone conduction hearing aid in children with unilateral congenital aural atresia (UCAA). Methods: Ten subjects (5 males and 5 females) diagnosed with UCAA with an average age of 8.3 years old (ranged from 5 to 15) were included in Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University from January to August 2019. The free sound field hearing threshold, word recognition score in quiet, speech reception threshold in noise and sound localization ability (results were measured by RMS error) tests were performed in unaided and aided situation, respectively. Subjective satisfaction questionnaires were also distributed to subjects. Paired t test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used as statistical analysis methods. Results: The average hearing threshold in aided condition was improved by (21.9±4.4) dB (t=15.8，P<0.05). Speech recognition abilities were generally improved both under quiet and noise (P<0.05);however, when the binaural summation, squelch and head shadow effects were analyzed respectively, the binaural squelch effect was not statistically improved (P>0.05), while the other effects were improved in aided condition (P<0.05). In sound localization test, there was no significant difference of the RMS error value between the unaided and aided situation (P>0.05). The subjects got high satisfaction rates in three subjective questionnaires. Conclusion: The adhesive bone conduction hearing aid can provide significant audiological benefit for children with UCAA as well as raising the quality of their life.
Adhesives ; Adolescent ; Bone Conduction ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss, Conductive ; Humans ; Male ; Speech Perception ; Treatment Outcome