ObjectiveTo investigate the distribution of high-intensity zone (HIZ) of lumbar intervertebral disc in patients with low back and/or leg pain,and analyze its related factors.MethodsSix hundred and twenty-eight patients with low back and/or leg pain were examined by MRI scan from June 2009 to August 2010.According to the diagnostic criteria of HIZ,the features of distribution of HIZ on age,segment and degree of intervertebral disc degeneration were analyzed retrospectively.ResultsAmong 3140 intervertebral discs of the 628 patients,172 cases (27.39％,172/628) and 206 discs (6.56％,206/3140)were involved with HIZ.There was no significant difference between men and women [26.38％(86/326)vs.28.48％(86/302)] (P=0.556).HIZ occurred more often [40.22％(72/179)] in those patients between 40 and 49 years of age.The incidence of HIZ at the segments from L1-2,L2-3,L3-4,L4-5,L5-S1 was 0.80％(5/628),2.07％(13/628),2.07％(13/628),14.01％(88/628) and 13.85％(87/628) respectively.In cases with and without HIZ,the incidence of intervertebral disc degeneration up to grade V was 49.03％(101/206) and 23.76％(697/2934) respectively (P ＜ 0.01 ).HIZ was correlated with age,degree of intervertebral disc degeneration and disc segment (r =-0.040,P=0.025 ;r =0.217,P＜ 0.01 ;r =0.179,P＜ 0.01 ).Conclusions HIZ is correlated with age,degree of intervertebral disc degeneration and disc segment.Intervertebral disc degeneration plays the most important role in the occurence of HIZ.HIZ_mainly occur in L4-5 and L5-S1 segment and in those between 40 and 49 years of age.

OBJECTIVETo screen the regulatory proteins involved in Nox1 promoter activation in a cell model of inflammation and oxidative stress.

METHODSA cell model of inflammation and oxidative stress was established by stimulating A549 cells with tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The differential proteins binding to Nox1 promoter were screened by DNA pull-down and the binding proteins were separated by 2D electrophoresis and selected according to the their differential expression levels (with over 1.5-fold changes relative to the control level). The screened proteins were finally identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS.

RESULTSSeven differentially expressed protein spots (all upregulated in the cell model) were obtained, among which GLE1, DDX19A, KRT1 and KRT10 were identified by mass spectrometry.

CONCLUSIONGLE1, DDX19A, KRT1 and KRT10 participate in the activation of Nox1 promoter in TNF-α-induced A549 cells, and this result provides new insights into the biological roles of the regulatory proteins of Nox1 promoter in inflammation and oxidative stress.

Cell Line, Tumor ; DEAD-box RNA Helicases ; metabolism ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Keratin-1 ; metabolism ; Keratin-10 ; metabolism ; Mass Spectrometry ; NADPH Oxidase 1 ; NADPH Oxidases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Nucleocytoplasmic Transport Proteins ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo establish an animal model of gastric cancer by long-term infection of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) and to elucidate the pathogenesis by proteomics analysis.

METHODSFifty male Mongolian gerbils (4-5 week-old and weighted 60-100 g) were infected with H.pylori and the gastric tissues were obtained after the infection at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Histological changes were evaluated by H-E staining of the gastric tissue sections. Detection of H.pylori was performed by in-vitro culture of fresh gastric tissue samples, PCR amplification of H.pylori 16s rRNA and localization by silver staining. In addition, proteins extracted from gastric tissue samples were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) at various infection time points. Protein spots with increased quantity over the course of H.pylori infection were selected and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Finally, differentially expressed proteins between human gastric cancer tissue samples and lymph nodes were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR.

RESULTSColonization of H.pylori was observed in gastric tissue of gerbils as early as 3 months after H.pylori infection, and persisted till 24 months. Pathological examination of infected animals showed various histological changes including acute gastritis, atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia and gastric carcinoma. Seventy-eight differentially expressed proteins were identified by proteomics analysis, among which 36 proteins were up-regulated and 42 were down-regulated. Analyzed by LC-MS/MS, ten proteins were identified, including lactate dehydrogenase, ATP synthase, fatty acid-binding protein, COX5B, peroxiredoxin-4, peroxide reductase, transgelin, succinyl-CoA ligase, keratin and protein disulfide-isomerase A2, among which transgelin, ATP synthase and lactate dehydrogenase were highly expressed in human gastric carcinoma and lymph nodes.

CONCLUSIONSH.pylori infection induces the expression of transgelin, ATP synthase and lactate dehydrogenase, implying possible roles in the pathogenesis of gastric diseases including cancer.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gastritis ; microbiology ; pathology ; Gerbillinae ; Helicobacter Infections ; complications ; metabolism ; Helicobacter pylori ; genetics ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Male ; Metaplasia ; Microfilament Proteins ; metabolism ; Muscle Proteins ; metabolism ; Proteomics ; Proton-Translocating ATPases ; metabolism ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; analysis ; Stomach Neoplasms ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

ObjectiveTo predict whether antiviral therapy is required in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection and an age of ≤30 years by establishing a noninvasive model， and to investigate the diagnostic value of this model. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 175 patients with chronic HBV infection who were admitted to Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital from January 2017 to January 2023 and met the inclusion criteria， and according to the results of liver biopsy， they were divided into treatment group with 41 patients （with indications for antiviral therapy） and observation group with 134 patients （without indications for antiviral therapy）. The two groups were analyzed in terms of the indicators including clinical data， imaging examinations， and serum biochemical parameters. The univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the parameters affecting the indication for antiviral therapy， and different models for predicting the need for antiviral therapy were constructed based on related parameters. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to compare the diagnostic value of different models. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous variables between groups， and the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous variables between groups； the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. ResultsThere were significant differences between the treatment group and the observation group in alanine aminotransferase， ferritin， total cholesterol （CHOL）， triglyceride， platelet count， liver stiffness measured by sound touch elastography （STE）， and procollagen III N-terminal propeptide （PIIIP） （all P<0.05）. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that CHOL （odds ratio ［OR］=0.4， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 0.2‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.0）， STE （OR=1.5， 95%CI： 1.0‍ ‍—‍ ‍2.1）， and PIIIP （OR=1.1， 95%CI： 1.0‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.1） were independent predictive factors for the indications for antiviral therapy. Model 1 （STE+PIIIP+CHOL）， model 2 （STE+PIIIP）， model 3 （STE+CHOL）， model 4 （PIIIP+CHOL） had an area under the ROC curve of 0.908， 0.848， 0.725， and 0.725， respectively， while STE， PIIIP， and CHOL used alone had an AUC of 0.836， 0.725， and 0.634， respectively， suggesting that model 1 had the largest AUC， with a specificity of 77.34% and a sensitivity of 96.36%， and had a significant difference compared with STE， PIIIP， CHOL， and the models 2， 3， and 4 （Z=0.21， 3.08， 3.06， 3.23， 0.89， and 0.88， all P<0.05）. ConclusionThe noninvasive model established based on CHOL， STE， and PIIIP has a good value in predicting the need for antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infection and an age of ≤30 years.