Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is marked by early-onset neurodevelopmental anomalies, yet the temporal dynamics of genetic contributions to these processes remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to elucidate the role of the Shank3 gene, known to be associated with monogenic causes of autism, in early developmental processes to inform the timing and mechanisms for potential interventions for ASD. Utilizing the Shank3B knockout (KO) mouse model, we examined Shank3 expression and its impact on neuronal maturation through Golgi staining for dendritic morphology and electrophysiological recordings to measure synaptic function in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) across different postnatal stages. Our longitudinal analysis revealed that, while Shank3B KO mice displayed normal neuronal morphology at one week postnatal, significant impairments in dendritic growth and synaptic activity emerged by two to three weeks. These findings highlight the critical developmental window during which Shank3 is essential for neuronal and synaptic maturation in the ACC.
Animals ; Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism* ; Mice, Knockout ; Dendrites/metabolism* ; Mice ; Synapses/metabolism* ; Gyrus Cinguli/metabolism* ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/genetics* ; Microfilament Proteins

Background::With an increasing number of patients with hematological malignancies being treated with umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT), the correlation between immune reconstitution (IR) after UCBT and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) has been reported successively, but reports on double-negative T (DNT) cell reconstitution and its association with acute GVHD (aGVHD) after UCBT are lacking.Methods::A population-based observational study was conducted among 131 patients with hematological malignancies who underwent single-unit UCBT as their first transplant at the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, between August 2018 and June 2021. IR differences were compared between the patients with and without aGVHD.Results::The absolute number of DNT cells in the healthy Chinese population was 109 (70-157)/μL, accounting for 5.82 (3.98-8.19)% of lymphocytes. DNT cells showed delayed recovery and could not reach their normal levels even one year after transplantation. Importantly, the absolute number and percentage of DNT cells were significantly higher in UCBT patients without aGVHD than in those with aGVHD within one year ( F = 4.684, P = 0.039 and F = 5.583, P = 0.026, respectively). In addition, the number of DNT cells in the first month after transplantation decreased significantly with the degree of aGVHD increased, and faster DNT cell reconstitution in the first month after UCBT was an independent protective factor for aGVHD (HR = 0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.23-0.93; P = 0.031). Conclusions::Compared to the number of DNT cells in Chinese healthy people, the reconstitution of DNT cells in adults with hematological malignancies after UCBT was slow. In addition, the faster reconstitution of DNT cells in the early stage after transplantation was associated with a lower incidence of aGVHD.

Objective:To detect pathogenic mutation in a Chinese family affected with isolated bilateral microtia.Methods:During 2022 June to December, one Chinese Han family with non-syndromic bilateral microtia was recruited at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University. The clinical data and peripheral blood samples were collected from the family members. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed in the proband to screen all candidate variants. Quantitative PCR was applied to identify the candidate copy number variation (CNV) among the proband, the unaffected wife and the affected son to demonstrate the association between candidate variant and phenotype.Results:The patients in the family had non-syndromic bilateral concha-type microtia. WGS detected the duplication in the intergenic region of HMX1 and CPZ gene in the proband, which involved the evolutionarily conserved region (ECR). Both the proband and his affected son carried the CNV, while his unaffected wife did not have this variation.Conclusion:Duplications involving the long range HMX1 enhancer ECR are associated with the bilateral concha-type microtia in this family.

Objective:To detect pathogenic mutation in a Chinese family affected with isolated bilateral microtia.Methods:During 2022 June to December, one Chinese Han family with non-syndromic bilateral microtia was recruited at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University. The clinical data and peripheral blood samples were collected from the family members. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed in the proband to screen all candidate variants. Quantitative PCR was applied to identify the candidate copy number variation (CNV) among the proband, the unaffected wife and the affected son to demonstrate the association between candidate variant and phenotype.Results:The patients in the family had non-syndromic bilateral concha-type microtia. WGS detected the duplication in the intergenic region of HMX1 and CPZ gene in the proband, which involved the evolutionarily conserved region (ECR). Both the proband and his affected son carried the CNV, while his unaffected wife did not have this variation.Conclusion:Duplications involving the long range HMX1 enhancer ECR are associated with the bilateral concha-type microtia in this family.

OBJECTIVE To establish the specific chromatogram of Qianghuo Shengshi Tang(QHSS) reference sample, clarify the key quality attributes of QHSS, providing reference for the quality evaluation of QHSS reference sample. METHODS The SilGreen C18 column(4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) was used. The mobile phase consisted acetonitrile and 0.2% formic acid aqueous solution. The detection wavelength was 328 nm. Established an HPLC characteristic spectrum analysis method for the reference sample of QHSS. A variety of chromatographic columns and different instruments were applied to investigate the adaptability of the system. HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS was used to identify the specific peaks of the QHSS reference samples in positive ion mode. RESULTS There were 14 peaks in the specific chromatogram, which belonged to Notopterygii Rhizoma Et Radix, Angelicae Pubescentis Radix, Ligustici Rhizoma Et Radix, Chuanxiong Rhizome, Viticis Fructus, respectively. Ferulic acid(peak 3) was reference peak. A total of 22 compounds were identified by mass spectrometry, including coumarin and flavonoids. CONCLUSION The established specific chromatogram method of QHSS is simple, stable and reproducible. The material basis of QHSS reference sample is basically determined, providing a reference for the development and quality control of QHSS.

ObjectiveBased on non-targeted metabolomics， to analyze the regulation of endogenous differential metabolites in serum of type 2 diabetes mellitus（T2DM） rats by Fuling Yunhua granules， and to clarify the metabolic pathways through which this granules exerted its effect on improving T2DM. MethodSeventy SD rats， half male and half female， were randomly divided into the control group， model group， and high， medium， low dose groups of Fuling Yunhua granules（20.70， 10.35， 5.18 g·kg^-1 in raw drug amount） and the positive drug group（pioglitazone hydrochloride tablets， 8.1 mg·kg^-1）. Except for the control group， other groups were fed with high-sugar and high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin（STZ） to establish a T2DM rat model. After successful modeling， the treatment groups were administered the corresponding drugs by gavage， and the control group and model group were treated with an equal volume of saline by gavage， once/d， for 28 d. Fasting blood glucose（FBG） and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c（GHbA1c） levels were measured in all groups of rats during the administration period， and hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathomorphological changes in the pancreatic tissues of rats at the end of the administration period. The endogenous metabolite levels in rat serum were detected by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap-electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry（UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS）， and the data were processed using principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA）. Differential metabolites were identified by the Human Metabolome Database（HMDB） and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG）， and screened for differential metabolites with variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1， P<0.05， and fold change（FC）<0.6 or FC>1. And the metabolic pathway enrichment analysis of the screened differential metabolites was performed by MetaboAnalyst 5.0， then the screened differential metabolites were diagnosed and evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic（ROC） curves. ResultCompared with the control group， the FBG level of rats in the model group increased significantly（P<0.01）， the GHbA1c content tended to increase， but the difference was not statistically significant， and the pancreatic tissue of rats was obviously damaged， the number of pancreatic islets decreased， and the pancreatic β-cells were obviously reduced， atrophied and enlarged. Compared with the model group， the FBG levels of rats in the high dose group of Fuling Yunhua granules and the positive drug group were significantly reduced after 2 weeks of administration（P<0.05， P<0.01）， the GHbA1c content of rats in the high dose group of Fuling Yunhua granules was significantly reduced（P<0.05）， and the pancreatic tissue lesions of rats in the different dose groups of Fuling Yunhua granules were reduced. The results of non-targeted metabolomics showed that 46 differential metabolites were significantly changed in the model group compared with the blank group. Pathway enrichment analysis found that T2DM mainly affected biological processes including biosynthesis of primary bile acid， D-amino acid metabolism， steroid hormone biosynthesis， and glycerophospholipid metabolism in rats. Compared with the model group， the levels of 8 differential metabolites in the high dose group of Fuling Yunhua granules were significantly adjusted， and the pathway enrichment analysis found that D-amino acid metabolism， retinol metabolism， glycine， serine and threonine metabolism， tryptophan metabolism and other metabolic pathways were mainly involved. ROC curves further analysis revealed that the four characteristic differential markers of 11-cis-retinol， D-piperidinic acid， D-serine， and p-cresol sulfate had high diagnostic value for the treatment of T2DM with Fuling Yunhua granules. ConclusionFuling Yunhua granules can improve the symptoms of T2DM rats by regulating the amino acid metabolic and retinol metabolic pathways through the modulation of endogenous differential metabolites.

Objective To investigate the effect of thalidomide combined with infliximab (IFX) in treatment of refractory inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its effects on insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Methods A total of 120 patients with refractory IBD were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, with 60 cases in each group. The two groups were given conventional treatment (mesalazine), the control group was given IFX, and the experimental group was given IFX combined with thalidomide, continuous treatment for two months. The efficacy, intestinal flora disturbance rate, adverse reactions, Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), Lewis score, serum IGF-1, TGF-β1 levels and nutritional status indexes[albumin (ALB), transferrin (Tf)]before and after treatment for 1 month and 2 months of the two groups were compared. Results The total effective rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). After one month and two months of treatment, CDAI and Lewis scores of the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05); the serum levels of IGF-1, TGF-β1 as well as ALB and Tf in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The improvement of intestinal flora disturbance rate in the experimental group was significantly better than that in the control group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of oral and nasal mucosa dryness, throat discomfort, nausea and vomiting between two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion In the treatment of refractory IBD patients, thalidomide combined with IFX can regulate serum IGF-1 and TGF-β1 levels, effectively relieve clinical manifestations, inhibit inflammatory activities, and improve nutritional status and intestinal flora disorders of patients, and it has high safety.

Objective:To investigate the expression level, development mechanism, role and clinical prognostic significance of tweety homolog 2 (TTYH2) in cutaneous melanoma (SKCM).Methods:The expression data and clinical information of 365 cutaneous melanoma patients were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the expression data of 812 normal tissues were retrieved from the genotype and Genotype-Tissue Expression(GTEx) to analyze the expression level of TTYH2 in SKCM tissues and normal counterparts. Survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of TTYH2 expression on prognosis and survival in SKCM patients. Gene set enrichment analysis Kyoto Genome Encyclopedia (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) were used to screen signaling pathways for significant TTYH2 enrichment. The interaction network analysis was carried out using STRING online platform to screen key protein network node genes. Secondly, CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the expression of 22 immune cells in each sample, and Chi-square test was applied to analyze the difference of immune cells in the high-low expression group.Results:The expression of TTYH2 in SKCM patients was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. Survival analysis showed that SKCM patients with high TTYH2 expression group had a poor prognosis. High TTYH2 expression was an independent predictor of poor overall survival of SKCM ( HR=1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.37, P=0.001). KEGG result showed that TTYH2 was mainly concentrated in cell synapses, ion channels, calcium signaling pathways and extracellular matrix receptor interaction pathways. GO analysis showed that the biological processes involved in TTYH2 may be closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. TTYH2 interacts with chloride intracellular channel protein 5, chloride ion channel protein 2, glycine receptor family members and gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor family members, suggesting that TTYH2 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SKCM. Immune cell infiltration analysis showed that the immune cell abundance of memory B cells, CD4 memory T cells and monocytes was significantly increased in the TTYH2 low expression group, while the immune abundance of follicular helper T cells and regulatory T cells was significantly decreased in the TTYH2 low expression group. Conclusion:TTYH2 expression may regulate the development of SKCM cells through various ways, affect the survival and prognosis of SKCM patients, and is a potential biological prognostic marker and therapeutic target of SKCM.

Objective:To investigate the expression level, development mechanism, role and clinical prognostic significance of tweety homolog 2 (TTYH2) in cutaneous melanoma (SKCM).Methods:The expression data and clinical information of 365 cutaneous melanoma patients were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the expression data of 812 normal tissues were retrieved from the genotype and Genotype-Tissue Expression(GTEx) to analyze the expression level of TTYH2 in SKCM tissues and normal counterparts. Survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of TTYH2 expression on prognosis and survival in SKCM patients. Gene set enrichment analysis Kyoto Genome Encyclopedia (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) were used to screen signaling pathways for significant TTYH2 enrichment. The interaction network analysis was carried out using STRING online platform to screen key protein network node genes. Secondly, CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the expression of 22 immune cells in each sample, and Chi-square test was applied to analyze the difference of immune cells in the high-low expression group.Results:The expression of TTYH2 in SKCM patients was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. Survival analysis showed that SKCM patients with high TTYH2 expression group had a poor prognosis. High TTYH2 expression was an independent predictor of poor overall survival of SKCM ( HR=1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.37, P=0.001). KEGG result showed that TTYH2 was mainly concentrated in cell synapses, ion channels, calcium signaling pathways and extracellular matrix receptor interaction pathways. GO analysis showed that the biological processes involved in TTYH2 may be closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. TTYH2 interacts with chloride intracellular channel protein 5, chloride ion channel protein 2, glycine receptor family members and gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor family members, suggesting that TTYH2 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SKCM. Immune cell infiltration analysis showed that the immune cell abundance of memory B cells, CD4 memory T cells and monocytes was significantly increased in the TTYH2 low expression group, while the immune abundance of follicular helper T cells and regulatory T cells was significantly decreased in the TTYH2 low expression group. Conclusion:TTYH2 expression may regulate the development of SKCM cells through various ways, affect the survival and prognosis of SKCM patients, and is a potential biological prognostic marker and therapeutic target of SKCM.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the central government-funded echinococcosis control programme in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province from 2007 to 2022, so as to provide insights into echinococcosis control. Methods Administrative villages were sampled using a multi-stage cluster random sampling method from Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province from 2007 to 2022, and all residents at ages of 12 years and older in the sampled villages were screened for echinococcosis, and schools were sampled using a cluster sampling method, and all children at ages of 12 years and older in the sampled schools were screened for echinococcosis. Domestic dogs were sampled using a systematic random sampling method, and one domestic dog stool sample was collected from each household. Stray dog stool samples were collected outside the villages, and Echinococcus coproantigens were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in domestic and stray dogs. In addition, echinococcosis was screened in sheep and cattle in designated slaughterhouses in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County. The trends in the prevalence of echinococcosis in humans and livestock and the positive rate of Echinococcus coproantigens in dogs were examined with the Cochran-Armitage trend test. In addition, individuals screened for echinococcosis were randomly sampled from 2007 to 2022 for survey on the awareness of echinococcosis control knowledge. Results A total of 290 356 person-times were screened for echinococcosis among residents at ages of 12 years and older in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province from 2007 to 2022, with 1 094 residents detected with cystic echinococcosis, and the detection of echinococcosis appeared a tendency towards a gradual decline over years (χ² = 358.602, P < 0.001). A total of 32 931 person-times were screened for echinococcosis among children at ages of 12 years and older in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province from 2007 to 2022, with 296 children detected with echinococcosis, and the detection of echinococcosis appeared a tendency towards a gradual decline over years (χ² = 267.673, P < 0.001). A total of 33 230 domestic dog stool samples were tested for Echinococcus coproantigens in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province from 2007 to 2022, with 1 777 Echinococcus coproantigens-positive samples tested, and the positive rate of Echinococcus coproantigens appeared a tendency towards a decline in domestic dogs over years (χ² = 2 210.428, P < 0.001), while the positive rate of Echinococcus coproantigens showed a tendency towards a rise in domestic animals from 2016 to 2022 (χ² = 37.745, P < 0.001). The positive rate of Echinococcus coproantigens remained relatively stable in stray dogs in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province from 2019 to 2022 (χ² = 0.315, P = 0.575). A total of 10 973 sheep were screened for echinococcosis in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County from 2007 to 2022, with 334 sheep detected with echinococcosis, and the detection of echinococcosis appeared a tendency towards a decline in sheep over years (χ² = 53.579, P < 0.001); however, there was no significant change in the detection of echinococcosis during the period from 2015 through 2022 (χ² = 1.520, P = 0.218). A total of 2 400 cattle were screened for echinococcosis in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County from 2017 to 2022, with 231 cattle detected with echinococcosis, and the detection of echinococcosis showed a tendency towards a decline over years (χ² = 5.579, P < 0.05). The awareness of echinococcosis control knowledge increased from 44.37% in 2007 to 94.00% in 2022 among residents at ages of 12 years and older and from 52.50% in 2007 to 92.50% in 2022 among children at ages of 12 years and older in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, respectively. Conclusions There has been a reduction in the detection of echinococcosis in humans and domestic animals and the positive rate of Echinococcus coproantigens in dogs and a rise in the awareness of the echinococcosis control knowledge following the implementation of the central government-funded echinococcosis control programme in Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province; however, integrated echinococcosis control measures are still required for further control of the prevalence of echinococcosis.