Objective To investigate the current status of prevalence and its relative factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the elderly in urban community in Ningxia province and to compare the differences in prevalence of NAFLD between Han and Hui ethnicities.Methods 1046 residents aged 55 years and over from five communities were selected.Questionnaire survey and clinical examination were conducted in all subjects.Fasting vein blood samples were collected.The serum total cholesterol,triglyceride,high density lipoprotein cholesterol,low density lipoprotein cholesterol were detected.Results There were 1043 subjects with average age of (66.41 6.65) years finishing the whole examination,including 696 (66.7％) Han and 347 (33.3％) Hui people.The total prevalence of NAFLD was 27.0％ (286/1043),and there was a significant difference in the prevalence [23.4％ (94 cases) vs.29.9％ (192 cases),x2 =5.18,P=0.023]between male and female,but no difference between Han and Hui ethnicities [28.2％ (98 cases) vs.27.0％ (188 cases) x2 =0.17,P=0.675].Logistic regression showed that age(OR=0.96,95％ CI:0.94-0.99),BMI(OR=1.31,95％ CI:1.24-1.38),TG(OR=1.71,95％ CI:1.47-1.98),central obesity (CO)(OR=5.20,95％CI:2.21-12.23) were the factors correlating with NAFLD.Conclusions The prevalence of NAFLD in Hui elderly people was is similar to that in Han elderly people.The elderly people with overweight,central obesity and high serum level of triglyceride and high level TG have higher risk for NAFLD.

Objective: To study the molecular features of metanephric adenoma (MA) and discuss their values in differential diagnosis. Methods: BRAF V600E immunohistochemistry (IHC) using the mutation-specific VE1 monoclonal antibody and Sanger sequencing of BRAF mutations were performed on 21 MAs, 16 epithelial-predominant Wilms tumors (e-WT) and 20 the solid variant of papillary renal cell carcinomas (s-PRCC) respectively. p16 protein was detected by IHC also. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses using centromeric probes for chromosome 7 and 17 were performed on the three renal tumors in parallel. Results: Fourteen (14/21, 66.7%) of 21 MA cases demonstrated diffuse, moderate to strong cytoplasmic BRAF V600E IHC staining and the BRAF V600E protein expression was detected in 2 (2/16) of 16 e-WT cases for the first time, whereas all s-PRCCs were negative (P<0.05). All cases (including 14 MAs and 2 e-WTs) with diffuse, moderate to strong cytoplasmic BRAF V600E IHC staining were confirmed to harbor BRAF V600E missense mutations using Sanger sequencing, and no BRAF mutations were detected in cases with negative BRAF V600E protein expression. One case (1/21, 4.8%) showed trisomy of chromosome 7 alone, and another one (1/21, 4.8%) showed trisomy of chromosome 17 alone in 21 MAs. Two cases (2/16) of 16 e-WTs showed trisomy of chromosome 17 alone. In 20 s-PRCCs, trisomy of chromosomes 7 alone was reported in 2 cases (2/20), trisomy of chromosome 17 alone in 3 cases (3/20) and trisomy of chromosome 7 and 17 in 14 cases (14/20). The total positive rates of trisomy of chromosome 7 and/or 17 in MAs, e-WTs and s-PRCCs were 9.6% (2/21), 2/16 and 95.0% (19/20). p16 protein was positive in 81.0% (17/21) MAs, whereas the positive rates in e-WTs and s-PRCCs were 2/16 and 5.0% (1/20). Conclusions Most MAs harbor BRAF V600E mutations, and MAs lack the gains of chromosome 7 and 17 that are characteristic of papillary renal cell carcinoma. These molecular features can be used to distinguish MA from its mimics. BRAF V600E IHC using the mutation-specific VE1 monoclonal antibody provides an effective method in BRAF V600E mutations detection of renal tumors. p16 is overexpressed in MA, and the finding suggests that the low proliferative rate of the tumor might be attributed to BRAF V600E-induced senescence mediated by p16.

Objective·To explore the effect of double homeobox(DUX)protein on the differentiation potential of mouse embryonic stem cells(mESCs)into extraembryonic endoderm(XEN)and the possible mechanism of its action.Methods·Overexpression of DUX cell lines in mESCs was achieved by using a lentiviral system.The proportion of 2-cell-like cells(2CLCs)before and after DUX overexpression was detected by flow cytometry,and the expression of 2-cell stage-specific genes,Dux,zinc finger and SCAN domain containing 4c(Zscan4c),zinc finger protein 352(Zfp352)and murine endogenous retrovirus-L polymerase(MERVL-pol),were detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR).RT-qPCR assay was used to detect the expression of pluripotency factors,nanog homeobox(Nanog),kruppel-like transcription factor 4(Klf4),sex determining region Y-box 2(Sox2),and octamer-binding transcription factor 4(Oct4),in pluripotent state,as well as the expression of signature genes for different germ layers in the differentiated state[endodermal:GATA binding protein 4(Gata4),GATA binding protein 6(Gata6),and sex determining region Y-box 17(Sox17);ectodermal:Nestin and tubulin beta 3 class Ⅲ(Tubb3);mesodermal:heart and neural crest derivatives expressed 1(Hand1),myogenic differentiation 1(Myod1),and kinase insert domain protein receptor(Flk1)].Public RNA sequencing(RNA-seq)data were mined to further clarify the effect of DUX on the differentiation of mESCs into extraembryonic endoderm.Functional and pathway enrichment analyses of differentially expressed genes were performed using Gene Ontology(GO),Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG),and gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA)to identify the signaling pathways regulated by DUX.Additionally,an in-depth analysis of existing chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing(ChIP-seq)data was conducted to explore the potential target genes of DUX.Results·Molecular biology experiments showed that overexpression of DUX could effectively maintain the pluripotency of mESCs,which was consistent with the analysis of public RNA-seq data.Differential gene analysis revealed that endodermal genes were specifically upregulated.After differentiation assay of mESCs,RT-qPCR assay experiments showed that mRNA expression of the XEN marker genes(Gata4,Gata6,Sox17)was significantly upregulated(P<0.001).In contrast,there was no specific change in mesodermal and ectodermal genes.GSEA enrichment analysis indicated that DUX might activate the retinoid metabolism signaling pathway,and the analysis of the ChIP-seq data further revealed the presence of a large number of known retinoic acid receptor motif in DUX-bound peaks,which could activate downstream target genes related to the development of the XEN.Conclusion·DUX has a strong correlation with the retinoic acid signaling pathway and it is predicted to activate the retinoic acid signaling pathway,which could promote the tendency of mESCs toward XEN differentiation.