Proline-rich cell wall proteins are widely spread in plants and are believed to function by modeling the architecture of the cell wall surrounding specific cell types. Five genes encoding proline-rich proteins were isolated from cotton cDNA libraries. The most common characteristic of these proteins is the abundant proline residues that occur in repeating motifs of at least two consecutive Pros. Based on amino acid composition, repetitive motifs and domain organization, the five members can be divided into two subgroups: one group similar to common PRPs including GhPRP3, GhPRP6, GhPRP5 and GhPRP4 was composed of two domains, an N-terminal hydrophobic domain (or signal peptide) followed by a proline-rich domain containing different proline-rich repetitive motifs; the other group different from common PRPs including GhPRPL lies in it contains an N-terminal hydrophilic domain, eight repetitive copies of pentapeptide (similar to PPKKE) lies in the C-terminal domain. Expression studies of the six GhPRPs have been carried out by quantitative realtime RT-PCR. The results showed that GhPRP3 and GhPRP5 were preferentially expressed in 10 dpa fiber, little transcripts was detected in other tissues examined. GhPRPL highly expressed in cotyledons, whereas smaller or negligible amounts of its transcripts were detected in other tissues. The remaining two genes, GhPRP4 and GhPRP6, were expressed in all the tissues analysed, but their transcript level is different. GhPRP4 mRNA is most abundant in hypocotyls, and then in anther, while GhPRP6 expressed highly in fiber, and then in 10 dpa ovule. Furthermore, the results showed that the fiber-specific GhPRP3 and GhPRP5 were also developmentally regulated, suggesting that the genes may play important roles during cotton fiber development.

Objective To detect the expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-4 (TIMP-4) in cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) tissue and to assess its relationship with melanoma proliferation,invasion and metastasis.Methods Western blot was conducted to measure the protein expression of TIMP-4 in five fresh lesional and paratumoral tissue specimens of CMM and three fresh tissue specimens of nevi.Immunohistochemistry was carried out to quantify the expression of TIMP-4,Ki-67,matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2),vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CD63 in paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 43 cases of CMM and 51 cases of nevi.The degree of malignancy of melanoma was evaluated in these lesions.Results Western blot analysis showed that the expression of TIMP-4 was significantly higher in 4 of 5 CMM tissue specimens than in corresponding paratumoral tissue specimens and nevus tissue specimens.Immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression rate of TIMP-4 was 86.04％ (37/43) in melanoma tissue,compared to 19.6％ (10/51) in nevus tissue (x2 =31.55,P ＜ 0.05).The expression of TIMP-4 increased sequentially from in situ melanoma to invasive and metastatic melanoma (rs =0.309,P ＜ 0.05).As far as CMM was concerned,the TIMP-4 expression was uncorrelated with any of the known prognostic variables including clinical stage,Clark level,Breslow depth,presence of ulcer,and Ki-67 expression (all P ＞ 0.05),but positively correlated with the expressions of VEGF (rs =0.345,P ＜ 0.05) and CD63 (rs =0.555,P ＜ 0.01).The median expression level of TIMP-4 was significantly higher in MMP-2-positive than in MMP-2-negative melanoma tissue samples (3 vs.0,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions TIMP-4 protein is highly expressed in CMM tissue,which may be closely associated with the initiation and progression of CMM,especially with the metastasis of and angiogenesis in CMM.

Objective To investigate causes and treatments for a fracture of the contralateral femoral neck in the elderly with prosthetic replacement for femoral neck fractures.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 85 cases undergone prosthetic replacement for femoral neck fractures between March 2005 and May 2012,including 12 cases in secondary replacement group due to fractures of the contralateral uninjured femoral neck after primary prosthetic replacement and 73 cases in primary replacement group.Variables were compared between the two groups including causes of injury,age,sex,bone density,complications,quality of life,Harris score of the contralateral hip joint,surgical choice.Refracture reasons were evaluated and treatment plans were proposed.Results Immediate cause of injury in all cases was falling.Primary and secondary replacement groups showed mean age of (68.82 ± 5.18) yearsvs (76.83 ± 3.64) years (P＜0.05),male to female ratio of 0.66:1 vs 0.09:1 (P＜0.05),and bone mineral density of (0.507 ± 0.062) g/cm2 vs (0.461 ± 0.095) g/cm2(P ＜0.05).Moreover,cases in the two groups suffered from the associated complications (hypertension,diabetes mellitus,cataract,stroke,rheumatoid arthritis,and Parkinson' s disease).Except for the diabetes mellitus,incidence of the other five basic diseases presented significance differences between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).Of primary and secondary replacement groups,quality of life was (76.26 ±14.17) points vs (67.86 ± 16.74) points (P ＜ 0.05) ; Harris score of the contralateral hip was (98.66 ±1.39) points vs (90.75 ± 5.39) points (P ＜ O.05).For treatment choice,32 total hip arthroplasty (THA) and 41 femoral head arthroplasty (FHA) with cement fixation in 44 cases and cementless fixation in 29 cases were performed in primary replacement group; two total hip arthroplasty and 10 femoral head arthroplasty with cement fixation in 11 cases and cementless fixation in one were performed in secondary placement group (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Fall remains the immediate cause of the contralateral fractures following prosthetic replacement of femoral neck fractures in the elderly.Aging,females,bone density reduction,high-incidence of complications,decreased quality of life,and joint function impairment after the primary prosthetic replacement are unfavorable factors.Prosthetic replacement is still the preferred choice of treatment and surgical procedure is more likely to be the simple cemented FHA.

ObjectiveTo understand the clinical and histopathologic diagnostic criteria for aneurysmal fibrous histiocytoma(AFH).MethodsThe clinical and histopathological features of 5 patients with AFH were retrospectively reviewed.ResultsThere were 3 males and 2 females in these patients.All the tumors clinically manifested as dark erythematous or brown nodules.Three cases had a recent history of rapid growth.The lesions were located on the limbs(n =3),or chest and lower mandible(n =2).Histopathological examination of skin biopsies showed typical features of dermatofibroma,accompanied by many irregular cleftlikeorcavernousblood-filledspaceswithnumeroushemosiderinpigmentsinallofthesecases.Immunohistochemically,the tumor cells were immunoreactive to vimentin and CD68 but negative for CD34 or CD31.Conclusions In view of a history of recent rapid growth,the presence of hemorrhagic pseudocysts and high vascularity,AFH should be differentiated from angiosarcoma and angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma.

Objective To measure the expression of CC chemokine ligand 18(CCL18)in cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) tissues, and to explore its clinical significance, as well as relationship with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Ki67 antigen expressions. Methods Immunohistochemistry was performed to measure CCL18, VEGF and Ki67 expressions in 58 paraffin?embedded CMM tissue specimens, as well as CCL18 expression in 20 paraffin?embedded pigmented nevus specimens, and immunofluorescence assay to confirm the expression of CCL18 in fresh CMM tissue specimens. Correlations of CCL18 expression with CMM clinicopathologic features, VEGF and Ki67 expressions were analyzed. Results CCL18 was detected in 49 (84.48%) of 58 paraffin?embedded CMM specimens, but in none of the 20 paraffin?embedded pigmented nevus specimens, with a significant difference in the positive rate of CCL18 between the CMM group and pigmented nevus group(χ2=45.46, P<0.01). The expression of CCL18 in paraffin?embedded CMM tissues was positively correlated with Clark′s level and Breslow thickness of CMM (rs = 0.609, 0.644 respectively, both P < 0.01), and was significantly different between ulcerated and non?ulcerated CMM(P<0.05), as well as between patients with and without lymphatic metastasis(P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the expression of CCL18 among patients of different age, gender, or between acral and non?acral CMM(all P>0.05). In addition, the expression of CCL18 in CMM tissues was positively correlated with that of VEGF(rs = 0.727, P < 0.05), but unrelated to that of Ki67(P > 0.05). Immunofluorescence assay showed CCL18 expression in the cytoplasm of tumor cells in CMM tissues. Conclusion CCL18 is highly expressed in CMM tissues, and may be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and insulin secretion and insulin re-sistance in subjects with different glucose loads .Methods Totally 389 patients met the requirements ,and the subjects underwent o-ral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to measure fasting SUA ,OGTT 0 ,30 ,60 ,120 min glucose (GLU) and insulin (INS) .According to the results of OGTT ,the subjects were divided into normal glucose tolerance group (NGT group ,n= 88) ,pre diabetes group (preDM group ,n=109) and diabetes mellitus (DM group ,n= 182) ,the insulin secretion index (IGI) ,120 min insulin secretion (AUC INS120/AUC GLU120 ) ,insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and Matsuda index were calculated .Calculated the quartile of SUA to divide the subjects to four groups ,the levels of insulin secretion and insulin resistance were compared between different glu-cose loading groups at different levels of SUA .The linear regression equation between SUA and insulin secretion and HOMA-IR was calculated .Results The SUA in DM group was lower than that of PreDM group [(346 .66 ± 90 .60)mmol/L vs .(367 .36 ± 92 .34)mmol/L] ,but slightly higher than that of NGT group[(339 .34 ± 89 .51)mmol/L] ,the difference was statistically significant (P<0 .01) .The IGI index and AUC INS120/AUC GLU120 index of DM group decreased with the increase of SUA (P<0 .01) ,and the Matsuda index decreased with the increase of SUA level (P<0 .05) .The linear equation of SUA and the IGI ,AUC INS120/AUC GLU120 ,HOMA-IR ,Matsuda index was Y=4 .050+0 .144X ,Y=2 .343+0 .206X ,Y =1 .288+0 .176X ,Y=129 .373-0 .202X re-spectively .Conclusion SUA was significantly associated with insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity .Insulin secretion in group DM increased with increasing SUA levels ,and insulin sensitivity decreased with increasing SUA levels .The linear equation of SUA and insulin secretion ,insulin sensitivity may be used to assess insulin function .

This article reports a case, happened in July 2019, of 9 severed segments of 2nd-5th fingers in left hand treated in the Department of Repair and Microsurgery, Zhengzhou Renji Hospital. Through the unified management before surgery, team surgery, three or four fixed-point mattress eversion suture and close observation after surgery. It can effectively prevent the occurrence of vascular compromise. All the replanted fingers survived after the surgery. And the function of the fingers recovered well at 2 years after surgery through early and continuous rehabilitation exercise.

Objective:To investigate clinicopathological features and prognosis of transformed mycosis fungoides (TMF) .Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on clinicopathological data collected from 24 patients with TMF, as well as on flow cytometry results of 16 peripheral blood samples obtained from 11 of the 24 patients, who visited Hospital of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between 2014 and 2020.Results:Among the 24 patients, 11 were males and 13 were females. Their average age at diagnosis of TMF was 50.0 years (range: 18 - 77 years), and patients with early-stage TMF (9 cases) and tumor-stage TMF (15 cases) were aged 44.8 and 52.6 years on average, respectively. The average time interval from diagnosis of MF to large cell transformation was 3.7 years, and 8 patients were diagnosed with TMF at the initial visit. Histopathologically, large cells infiltrated in a diffuse pattern in 20 cases, as well as in a multifocal pattern in 4, and the proportion of large cells in 7 cases was greater than 75%. Immunohistochemically, 18 patients showed positive staining for CD30, and the proportion of CD30-positive large cells was greater than 75% in 9; negative staining for CD30 was observed in 6. Flow cytometry of 16 peripheral blood samples showed the presence of cell subsets expressing clonal T cell receptor (TCR) -vβ in 2 of 4 patients with early-stage TMF and 10 of 12 with tumor-stage TMF, and tumor cells with higher forward scatter than normal lymphocytes were detected in 16 samples. During the follow-up, among the patients with early-stage TMF, 3 progressed to tumor-stage TMF 3.3 years on average after large cell transformation, 1 progressed to erythrodermic MF in stage IIIA, and the other 4 still showed an indolent course; among the patients with tumor-stage TMF, 1 progressed to stage-IV TMF, and 5 died 3.3 (1.5 - 6) years after large cell transformation.Conclusion:Large cell transformation may occur in patients with MF in any stage, some patients have poor prognosis, so close follow-up is needed for patients with TMF.