Objective To analyze the virus subtypes, molecular evolutional and molecular transmission network features of the first confirmed mpox case in Huai’an City, Jiangsu Province, so as to provide insights into understanding of the transmission and evolution dynamics of mpox virus and formulation of the mpox control strategy in the city. Methods Genomic DNA was extracted from swabs of the first confirmed mpox case’s skin lesions in Huai’an City, and the amplicon sequencing library was constructed using the hypersensitive mpox virus whole-genome capture kit. High-throughput sequencing was performed using the GridION X5 nanopore sequencer on the Nanopore sequencing platform, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of mpox virus genome sequences was performed following sequence assembly. In addition, phylogenetic analysis, genetic genealogy and molecular traceability analysis were performed. Results The virus whole genome sequence of the first confirmed mpox case was successfully obtained by high-throughput sequencing, with a full length of 197 182 bp, and was named hMpxV/China/JS-HA01/2023, which belonged to the clade IIb (West African clade) lineage B.1.3. Compared with the mpox virus reference sequence MPXV-M5312_HM12_Rivers-001 (GenBank accession number: NC_063383), the genome sequence of the Huai’an virus isolate carried 86 SNPs, including 40 SNPs in the coding region as non-synonymous mutations and 73 SNPs as nucleotide mutations caused by APOBEC3 (APOBEC3). Of the 97 mpox virus gene sequences, 79 sequences were included in the molecular network (81.44%), and the threshold of the genetic distance accessed to the network was 0.35/10⁵. There were two large molecular transmission clusters and one scattered cluster in the molecular transmission network of the mpox virus, andthehMpxV/China/JS-HA01/2023 sequence was located in the large cluster. The 97 gene sequences formed 92 haplotypes, including three shared haplotypes Hap_4, Hap_6 and Hap_38, and an exclusive haplotype Hap_1 of hMpxV/China/JS-HA01/2023 generated from mutation of the exclusive haplotype Hap_43, while the exclusive haplotype Hap_43 was generated from mutation of the shared haplotype Hap_38. Conclusions The whole genome sequence of the mpox virus isolated from the first confirmed mpox case in Huai’an City has been successfully obtained, and the molecular evolutionary and molecular transmission network characteristics of the virus have been preliminarily understood.

Objective:To study the biological traits and mutations of the influenza A (H3N2) virus in order to produce a vaccine and offer references for controlling and preventing influenza epidemics.Methods:Four strains of the influenza A(H3N2) virus were chosen from the Huai′an surveillance network laboratory. Nucleic acid extraction, library building, and sequencing (CridION x5 MKI Nanopore) were used to produce the whole-genome sequences. Using homologous alignments of whole-genome sequences, phylogenetic tree construction, and amino acid variant screening, bioinformatics analysis was carried out.Results:The nucleotide identity between 8 gene segments ranged from 97.1% to 100.0%. The gene that differed the most from the reference sequences was HA (97.1%-99.9%), and the gene that differed the least was MP (98.6%-99.9%). The HA gene (3.06%) and MP gene (1.43%) were the regions with the greatest and lowest frequencies of nucleotide site change, respectively. The rates of nucleotide change varied significantly between the genes ( χ2=14.293, P=0.046). Four influenza A(H3N2) virus strains′ whole-genome phylogenies from each of the eight gene segments maintained a roughly consistent topological structure. One strain was linked to the 3C.2a1b.1b clade, which was lost at the 142NWT, 149NGT(HA1), and 436NLS(NA). Three strains were linked to the 3C.2a1b.2a.1a clade lineage. Amantadine and NA inhibitors were effective against all Huai′an strains. Conclusions:The antigenicity of one strain of Huai'an strain changed and its matching with the vaccine strain of that year was low. It is suggested that the genetic surveillance of H3N2 influenza virus should be continuously strengthened to provide scientific basis for influenza prevention and control and influenza vaccine screening.

ObjectiveTo discover and analyze single or several correlative key amino acid sites that influence the host tropism during the influenza A virus （IAV） infection based on complete internal protein gene segments of IAV strains， and to provide evidence for the study of human host-adaptive mutations of IAV. MethodsThe full-length nucleotide sequences of 43 671 IAV strains containing 6 complete internal gene segments were downloaded from the GISAID EpiFlu^TM database， and 698 human-tropic （HU） and 1 266 avian-tropic （AV） representative strains were included. The consensus coding sequences of the representative strains from the amphitropic category were compared by R script， and the differential amino acid sites and their polymorphisms were then obtained. The multi-site combination analysis of differential sites was conducted with R script. ResultsA total of 49 and 57 conserved differential sites were obtained from the consensus sequence comparison between AV and H1N1 （subtype from HU）， and comparison between AV and H3N2 （another subtype from HU）， separately. 79 and 65 multi-site combinations were found between HU and AV strains through 3 and 4 sites combination analysis， respectively， and a total of 11 conserved sites were involved： site 271 and 684 in PB2； site 336， 486， 581 and 621 in PB1； site 204 and 356 in PA； site 33， 305 and 357 in NP. No eligible differential sites were found in M1 and NS1. ConclusionSeveral conserved amino acid differential sites， between HU and AV strains of IAV， are found in PB2， PB1， PA and NP proteins. Instead of working as single units， these sites may have interactions， forming specific amino acid combinations that determine the host tropism of IAV collectively.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Zuogui Jiangtang Jieyu Decoction (ZJJ) on Shh signaling and self-renewal of neural stem cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of diabetic rats with depression. METHODS: Diabetic rat models with depression were randomly divided into model group, positive drug (metformin + fluoxetine) group, and low-, medium-, and high-dose ZJJ groups (n=16), with normal SD rats as the control group. The positive drugs and ZJJ were administered by gavage, and the rats in the control and model groups were given distilled water. After the treatment, blood glucose level was detected using test strips, and behavioral changes of the rats were assessed by forced swimming test and water maze test. ELISA was used to examine the serum level of leptin; The expressions of nestin and Brdu proteins in the dentate gyrus of the rats were detected using immunofluorescence assay, and the expressions of self-renewal marker proteins and Shh signaling proteins were detected using Western blotting. RESULTS: The diabetic rats with depression showed significantly increased levels of blood glucose and leptin (P < 0.01) and prolonged immobility time in forced swimming test (P < 0.01) and increased stage climbing time with reduced stage seeking time and stage crossings in water maze test (P < 0.01). The expressions of nestin and Brdu in the dentate gyrus, the expressions of cyclin D1, SOX2, Shh, Ptch1, Smo in the hippocampus and the nuclear expression of Gli-1 were decreased (P < 0.01) while hippocampal Gli-3 expression was increased significantly (P < 0.01) in the rat models. Treatment of rat models with high-dose ZJJ significantly reduced the blood glucose (P < 0.01) and leptin level (P < 0.05) and improved their performance in behavioral tests (P < 0.01). The treatment also obviously increased the expressions of nestin, Brdu, cyclin D1, SOX2, Shh, Ptch1, and Smo and the nuclear expression of Gli-1 in the dentate gyrus (P < 0.01) and reduced hippocampal expression of Gli-3 (P < 0.05) in the rat models. CONCLUSION ZJJ can significantly improve the self-renewal ability of neural stem cells and activate Shh signaling in dentate gyrus of diabetic rats with depression.
Animals ; Rats ; Blood Glucose ; Bromodeoxyuridine ; Cell Self Renewal ; Cyclin D1 ; Dentate Gyrus ; Depression ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; Hippocampus ; Leptin ; Nestin ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

ObjectiveAntibiotic resistance genes （ARGs） have received wide attention all over the world. The purpose of this study was to explore the bacterial community structure， the types and levels of antibiotic resistance genes in a water body in east China， and to compare and analyze the characteristics of microbial species distribution and antibiotic resistance gene distribution in various water environments. MethodsA total of 10 households in Haimen City， Jiangsu Province were selected and their surrounding water environment samples were collected. 21 water samples including river water （4）， Mingou water （9） and well water （8） were collected for metagenomics sequencing， assembled with MetaWRAP， annotated with CARD database， and analyzed with R software. ResultsIn various water bodies， the dominant bacteria phyla was Proteobacteria， the dominant bacteria genera were Deuterostomia， Pseudomonas， Flavobacteriales and Streptomycetaceae. The ARGs annotated were mainly composed of quinolones， aminoglycosides， macrolides and beta-lactams antibiotic resistance genes. The top four relative abundance of resistance genes were macB， RanA， evgS and TxR， The average absolute abundance and expression of resistance genes in well water and Mingou water were higher than those in river water. ConclusionMultiple ARGs are detected to varying degrees in well water， river water， and Mingou water bodies， and the expression of resistance genes in well water and Mingou water bodies is higher than that in river water bodies， possibly due to human production and living activities.

Objective To explore the effects of different dietary induction models of inulin， resistant starch RS3 and their complexes on the body weight and intestinal flora in mice. Methods A total of 64 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into low-fat control group， low-fat inulin group， low-fat resistant starch RS3 group， low-fat composite group and high-fat control group， high-fat inulin group， high-fat resistant starch RS3 group and high-fat composite group for dietary intervention. The mice were weighed and fresh feces were collected weekly. Diet intervention was continued until the weight of the high-fat control group was more than 14% higher than that of the low-fat control group. The mice were then sacrificed after overnight fasting. Liver and epididymal fat were weighed， and the colon contents were collected for 16S amplicon sequencing analysis. Results In low-fat diet fed mice， the combined induction of inulin and resistant starch RS3 caused a significant decrease in body weight gain. In high-fat diet fed mice， inulin alone and the combined induction both caused a significant reduction in weight gain， and there was no significant difference between the two methods. In the high-fat diet groups， inulin， resistant starch RS3， and the compound could be distinguished by Bacteroides， Bifidobacterium and Alloprevotella respectively. In the low-fat diet groups， inulin， resistant starch RS3， and the composite groups could be distinguished by Coriobacteriaceae_UCG_002， Bacteroides and Helicobacter， respectively. Conclusion Inulin and resistant starch RS3 diet induction can significantly reduce the weight gain of C57BL/6 mice， change the structure of intestinal flora， and show the difference between high-fat and low-fat diets. Inulin and resistant starch RS3 may reduce body weight and promote fat metabolism by changing the structure of intestinal flora.

From December 2019, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia (formerly known as the 2019 novel Coronavirus [2019-nCoV]) broke out in Wuhan, China. In this study, we present serial CT findings in a 40-year-old female patient with COVID-19 pneumonia who presented with the symptoms of fever, chest tightness, and fatigue. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection confirmed by real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. CT showed rapidly progressing peripheral consolidations and ground-glass opacities in both lungs. After treatment, the lesions were shown to be almost absorbed leaving the fibrous lesions.
Adult ; China ; Coronavirus ; Fatigue ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Lung ; Pneumonia ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

From December 2019, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia (formerly known as the 2019 novel Coronavirus [2019-nCoV]) broke out in Wuhan, China. In this study, we present serial CT findings in a 40-year-old female patient with COVID-19 pneumonia who presented with the symptoms of fever, chest tightness, and fatigue. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 infection confirmed by real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. CT showed rapidly progressing peripheral consolidations and ground-glass opacities in both lungs. After treatment, the lesions were shown to be almost absorbed leaving the fibrous lesions.

Objective To explore the effect of invasion and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) endothelial cells (TECs) affected by overexpression of microRNA-3178 (miR-3178) through the transfection of miR-3178 mimic.Methods Real-time polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) was used to identify differential expression of miR-3178 in normal hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs) and HCC TECs.Furthermore,HCC TECs were divided into 3 groups:control (CON) group,miRNA-3178 upregulation (Mimics,up-regulation of miR-3178 expression was achieved using miR-3178 mimics transfected into HCC TECs) group and negative control (NC,negative control sequence was transfected into HCC TECs) group.RT-PCR was used to detect expression of miR-3178 in HCC TECs before and after transfection.Transfection efficiency was observed by using an inverted fluorescence microscope.HCC TECs invasionand migration were measured by matrigel invasion and transwell migration assay.EGR3 protein expression of HCC TECs were identified by Western blotting analysis.EGR3 mRNA expression of HCC TECs were identified by RT-PCR analysis.Results The results of RT-PCR showed that miR-3178 was significantly down-regulated in HCC TECs compared to HSECs (P ＜0.05),and expression of miR-3178 was significantly increased after the transcienttransfection (P ＜ 0.05).The transfection efficiency in HCC TECs was morethan 90％.Number of migrated and invaded cells and in miR-3178 group was significantly less than those in other groups.Target gene prediction software showed EGR3 was a possible candidate target.Transfection of miR-3178 mimic significantly decreased the mRNA and protein expression levels of EGR3.Conclusion MiR-3178 was downregulated in HCC TECs and overexpression of miR-3178 can specifically inhibit migration and invasion of HCC TECsin vitro through inhibiting EGR3 expression,thus,miR-3178 might be a critical targeted therapy strategv for HCC.

Objective To explore the proliferation-promoting effect of bovine mammary gland epithelial cells (BMECs) co-cultured with umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) in serum-free culture mediuum.Methods Bovine UC-MSCs and BMECs were selected for co-culturing in direct or indirect contact.In the direct contact culture groups, UC-MSCs and BMECs were co-cultured at concentration ratios of 2∶1, 1∶1, 1∶2, 1∶3, 1∶4, 1∶5, and 1:10, respectively.In the indirect contact culture group, the supernatant of UC-MSCs was used as the conditioned medium to re-suspend BMECs.In the control groups, UC-MSCs and BMECs were cultured alone.The cell growth status in each group was observed at 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 h after culture, and cell proliferation was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay.Results At 48 h, the optical density of the conditioned medium-BMECs group was significantly higher compared with the control groups (P<0.05).Meanwhile, the optical density in the direct contact group at a concentration ratio of 1∶2 reached the peak, which was extremely significantly higher compared with the control groups (P<0.01) and significantly higher compared with the other direct contact culture groups and the conditioned medium-BMECs group (P<0.05).Conclusions Co-culture of UC-MSCs and BMECs in serum-free culture medium is capable to promote the proliferation of BMECs, and the co-culture by cell-to-cell contact has a better effect.The optimal concentration ratio of UC-MSCs to BMECs is 1∶2, and the optimal culture time is 48 h.