Objective To evaluate 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC somatostatin receptor and 131 I-MIBG imaging in clinical diag-nostic of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma(PPGL).Methods This was a retrospective study.359 PPGL pa-tients diagnosed by pathology microscopy were included.The diagnostic sensitivity and influencing factors on 99mTc-HYNIC-TOC somatostatin receptor and 131 I-MIBG imaging were analyzed.Results The positive rate of 99mTc-HYN-IC-TOC somatostatin receptor scintigraphy was 57.7%(184/319)and 131I-MIBG imaging was 83.2%(232/279).The positive rates of 99m Tc-HYNIC-TOC somatostatin receptor imaging in the adrenal glands,retroperitoneum,head and neck,heart and mediastinum,pelvis and bladder were 53.3%,62.5%,95.0%,66.7%,50.0%and 11.0%respec-tively and the positive rates of 131I-MIBG imaging were 86.7%,88.5%,45.4%,50.0%,75.0%and 33.3%respec-tively.The positive rate of the two imaging did not showed difference among patients with different genetic back-grounds(SDH,VHL,RET mutations).The median maximum diameter of tumors was 4.4(3.0,6.1)cm.and the diag-nostic sensitivity of somatostatin receptor imaging and 131 I-MIBG imaging for larger tumors(≥4.4 cm)was signifi-cantly higher than those for the smaller tumor group(＜4.4 cm)(64.0%vs.51.3%;92.3%vs.74.1%)(P＜0.01).Tumors in 19 patients(5.3%)failed to uptake neither imaging method.Conclusions This is the largest PPGL cohort in China concerning 99m Tc-HYNIC-TOC somatostatin receptor imaging and 131 I-MIBG imaging.The sensitivity of 131 I-MIBG imaging is higher than that of 99m Tc-HYNIC-TOC somatostatin receptor imaging,but for some tumors,such as head and neck paraganglioma,the latter has obvious advantages.These two imagings technol-ogies are complementary and the choice of them should depend the individual situation of patients.

OBJECTIVE To explore the correlation between changes in intestinal toxicity and changes in component composition of the Mongolian medicine Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix(EPR)before and after processing with milk.METHODS Mice were given 95%ethanol extract of raw EPR,milk-processed EPR and water-processed EPR by gavage.The purgative effect and intestinal inflam-matory toxicity changes of EPR before and after milk processing were investigated using the fecal water content and the levels of inflam-matory factors TNF-α and IL-1β in each intestinal segment of mice as indicators;LC-MS/MS was used to analyze the composition changes of the 95%alcohol extract of EPR before and after milk processing.RESULTS Compared with the blank group,the raw and water processed products of EPR could significantly increase the water content of mouse feces and the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in each intestinal segment(P＜0.05);compared with the raw product group,all indicators in the milk processing group were significantly reduced(P＜0.05),while there was no significant difference in the water processing group,indicating that water processing cannot at-tenuate toxicity,and the auxiliary material milk is the key auxiliary material to reduce the toxicity of EPR.Mass spectrometry analysis results showed that a total of 50 components were identified in EPR,including 38 terpenoid components,6 phenolic acid components,and 6 other components.The content of each component decreased to varying degrees after milk processing.Principal component analy-sis(PCA)and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA)were performed on the mass spectrum data of raw ma-terials and products,and it was found that the components of raw materials and products can be obviously clustered into 2 categories.13 differential components of raw materials and products were screened through t test,and 11 of which were terpene compo-nents,indicating that the composition of terpene components changed significantly after milk processing.17 components derived from EPR were detected in the residual liquid of milk excipients after processing,of which 16 were terpenoids,indicating that the terpenoid components of EPR were transferred to the excipient milk during the soaking and processing processes.CONCLUSION The toxicity of EPR is reduced and the purgative effect is alleviated after milk processing.The attenuation mechanism may be that during the milk soaking and processing processes,terpenoid components are transferred to the milk,and the content of toxic components in the decoc-tion pieces is reduced,thereby reducing the toxicity.

[Objective]To investigate the difference of ultrasound characteristics between pure mucinous carcinoma(PMC)and fibroadenoma(FA)of the breast.[Methods]Ultrasound data of 50 continuous patients with breast PMC from January 2012 to January 2021 and 100 continuous patients with breast FA from June 2018 to January 2019 in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were retrospectively reviewed.The ultrasound characteristics of the two groups were evaluated according to the 2013 BI-RADS Ultrasound Atlas,and the differences in age,maximum diameter and ultrasound characteristics between the two groups were compared.[Results]The median age of PMC patients was 47 years and that of FA patients was 33 years.The age of PMC patients was higher than that of the FA group,and the differ-ence between the two groups of patients was statistically significant(P<0.001).The median maximum diameter of PMC pa-tients was 2.4 cm,which was greater than that of the FA group(1.8 cm),and the difference was statistically significant(P=0.001).Of the PMC,70%(35/50)were irregular,82%(41/50)were parallel to the skin,92%(46/50)had no circum-scribed margin,72%(36/50)were hypoechoic,and 68%(34/50)had enhanced posterior echo.Of the FA,69%(69/100)were oval or round,98%(98/100)were parallel to the skin,54%(54/100)had circumscribed margin,98%(98/100)were hypoechoic,and 75%(75/100)had no posterior features.The differences in the above ultrasound characteris-tics between the PMC and FA groups were statistically significant(P<0.001,P=0.001,P<0.001,P<0.001,P<0.001).There was no significant difference between calcifications and blood flow.[Conclusions]Compared with the FA group,pa-tients with PMC are older and the diameter of the lesions are larger.On ultrasound,the morphology and margin of most breast PMC still show the growth characteristics of invasive cancer.Meanwhile,the posterior echo of PMC is enhanced,which is a unique manifestation.

Nipah virus(NipahVirus,NiV)is a zoonotic virus that can cause encephalitis and severe respiratory symptoms in humans and animals,and is at risk of being introduced into China.At present,there are many factors related to the transmission of Nipah virus disease(NVD),but the actual effects of these factors are controversial.Therefore,with the help of meta-analysis,this paper aims to determine the current mortality and the main means of transmission of NVD,so as to pro-vide reference for the input of controlling Nipah virus disease and making emergency plans for pre-vention and control in our country.By searching the articles published in Pubmed,Embase,Web of knowledge,CNKI,VIP Chinese Sci-tech Journals Database and Wanfang Database up to December 31,2022,the literature of cross-sectional,cohort and case-control studies with NiV encephalitis fa-tality rate(CFR)and risk factors were selected.Results showed that a total of 25 literatures were included in the meta-analysis after retrieval and screening,and the fatality rate of NiV encephalitis was 64.6％(95％CI,60.8-68.2;I2=96.8％).Subgroup analysis showed that tree climbing(OR=1.43;95％CI:1.05-1.96),bats were seen near their nighttime residence(OR=2.38;95％CI:1.74-3.25)and direct contact with date palm SAP(OR=6.01;95％CI:4.07-8.89)Bananas(OR=2.25;95％CI:1.31-3.85)OR porcine(OR=11.87;95％CI:1.15-122.23)was significantly associated with NiV encephalitis.The results of this study suggest that NiV encephalitis has a high mortality rate,and tree climbing,nocturnal exposure to bats,and exposure to pig,banana,and date palm SAP increase the risk of NiV encephalitis.In order to prevent NiV transmission,epidemic surveillance,education and publicity should be strengthened and protective measures should be taken.

Methods: The median sagittal diameter and transverse diameter of the spinal canal from C2 to C7 were measured on CT images. The ratio of the median sagittal diameter to the transverse diameter was calculated. Accordingly, the spinal canal shape of each segment was classified into four, and the specific criteria of lunar phase classification were determined through linear discriminant analysis based on the ratio of the median sagittal diameter to the transverse diameter. The inter-rater reliability of the classification was explored using Kappa coefficients. Finally, the morphology of the different segments of the cervical spinal canal in healthy volunteers was revised and compared. Results: According to the ratio of the median sagittal diameter and the transverse diameter of the cervical spinal canal, the lunar phase classification of the cervical bony spinal canal was determined as follows: full-moon >0.65, 0.55< convex-moon ≤0.65, 0.46≤ quarter-moon ≤0.55, and residual-moon <0.46. The Kappa values of C2–C7 were 0.851, 0.958, 0.823, 0.927, 0.793, and 0.946, and the Kappa value of all C2–C7 segments was 0.854 that mainly presented two forms of full-moon (76.5%) and convex-moon (23.0%). A quarter-moon spinal canal was mainly distributed in C3, C4, C5, and C6; a residual-moon spinal canal was mainly distributed in C4 and C5; and the morphological distribution of C4 and C5 were similar (p>0.05). The frequency of the spinal canal of the residual-moon type was the highest, and the full-moon (6.5%) and residual-moon (7.5%) types of C7 were rare. Conclusions The morphological classification of the cervical spinal canal was established to present anatomical variations. The classification showed good inter-rater reliability.

Background The pathogenesis of silicosis is complex and treatment methods are limited. SiO₂-induced increase of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) can activate fibroblasts to promote collagen deposition, ultimately leading to fibrosis. Previous studies have confirmed that lipid metabolism plays an important role in the progression of silicosis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC1α) mediates mitochondrial dysfunction and lipid metabolism pathways in diabetic models, but its role in silicosis has not been elucidated. Objective To investigate the effect of PGC1α on lipid metabolism disorder of macrophages induced by SiO₂ and its effect on the progression of silicosis fibrosis. Methods (1) Macrophages were divided into four groups by transfecting and silencing PGC1α and its control sequence in macrophages and followed by SiO₂ stimulation: negative control group (transfected with si-NC for 48 h), si-PGC1α group (transfected with si-PGC1α for 48 h), SiO₂ stimulation group (stimulated with 50 μg·mL⁻¹ SiO₂ for 36 h after transfection with si-NC for 48 h), and si-PGC1α+SiO₂ group (stimulated with 50 μg·mL⁻¹ SiO₂ for 36 h after transfection with si-PGC1α for 48 h). Western blot and cell immunofluorescence were used to test PGC1α expression, 4,4-difluoro-1,3,5,7,8-pentamethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY 493/503) and total cholesterol (TC) and free cholesterol (FC) kits were used to test lipid accumulation, and the Oroboros2k-Oxygraph respiratory test system (O2K) was used to assess the effects of PGC1α on mitochondrial respiratory chain. ELISA kits were used to test TGF-β1 expressed in the macrophage supernatant. (2) Lung fibroblasts were divided into the same four groups as above, and stimulated with the supernatant of macrophages in the above groups. The expression of collagen Ι (COL Ι), E-cadherin (Eca), and fibronectin (FN) were detected by cell immunofluorescence and Western blot to further evaluate the effect of silencing PGC1α on fibrosis. Results The protein expression level of PGC1α stimulated by SiO₂ was decreased, and the relative expression level of PGC1α was 0.78 times that of the control group (P<0.05). After transfection with si-PGC1α, the expression of PGC1α was decreased, and the relative protein expression level of the si-PGC1α group was 0.86 times that of the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the SiO₂ stimulation group, the staining area of BODIPY 493/503 in the si-PGC1α+SiO₂ group was enhanced, and the cholesterol-related indexes [TC, FC and cholesterol ester (CE)] were increased to 1.38, 1.10, and 2.26 times those in the SiO₂ stimulation group (P<0.05). The activity of mitochondrial complex Ι was decreased, and the level of complex Ι in the si-PGC1α+SiO₂ group was 0.63 times that in the SiO₂ stimulation group (P<0.05). The secretion of TGF-β1 by macrophages increased, and the level of TGF-β1 in the si-PGC1α+SiO₂ group was 1.15 times that of the SiO₂ stimulation group (P<0.05). In addition, after stimulation of primary lung fibroblasts with macrophage supernatant, silencing PGC1α increased the expression levels of COL Ι and FN, while decreased the expression of Eca. The protein levels of COL Ι, FN, and Eca in the si-PGC1α+SiO₂ group were 1.39, 1.18, and 0.82 times those in the SiO₂ stimulation group, respectively (P<0.05). Conclusion Silencing PGC1α exacerbates SiO₂-induced lipid metabolism disorder, inhibits mitochondrial respiratory chain, and aggravates the fibrosis induced by SiO₂, suggesting that PGC1α may participate silicosis fibrosis by regulating mitochondrial respiratory chain and lipid metabolic disorder induced by SiO₂.

In order to investigate the molecular mechanism of silk/threonine protein kinase (STK)-mediated blue light response in the algal Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, phenotype identification and transcriptome analysis were conducted for C. reinhardtii STK mutant strain crstk11 (with an AphvIII box reverse insertion in stk11 gene coding region) under blue light stress. Phenotypic examination showed that under normal light (white light), there was a slight difference in growth and pigment contents between the wild-type strain CC5325 and the mutant strain crstk11. Blue light inhibited the growth and chlorophyll synthesis in crstk11 cells, but significantly promoted the accumulation of carotenoids in crstk11. Transcriptome analysis showed that 860 differential expression genes (DEG) (559 up-regulated and 301 down-regulated) were detected in mutant (STK4) vs. wild type (WT4) upon treatment under high intensity blue light for 4 days. After being treated under high intensity blue light for 8 days, a total of 1 088 DEGs (468 upregulated and 620 downregulated) were obtained in STK8 vs. WT8. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that compared to CC5325, the crstk11 blue light responsive genes were mainly involved in catalytic activity of intracellular photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, and pigment synthesis. Among them, upregulated genes included psaA, psaB, and psaC, psbA, psbB, psbC, psbD, psbH, and L, petA, petB, and petD, as well as genes encoding ATP synthase α, β and c subunits. Downregulated genes included petF and petJ. The present study uncovered that the protein kinase CrSTK11 of C. reinhardtii may participate in the blue light response of algal cells by mediating photosynthesis as well as pigment and carbon metabolism, providing new knowledge for in-depth analysis of the mechanism of light stress resistance in the algae.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii/genetics* ; Photosynthesis/genetics* ; Plants/metabolism* ; Protein Kinases ; Threonine/metabolism* ; Carbon/metabolism* ; Serine/metabolism*

Objective:To screen the differential metabolites and metabolic pathways in silicosis model by analyzing plasma metabolomics of silicosis rats.Methods:In May 2021, twenty male SD rats were randomly divided into control group (C), 1-week silicosis group (S1W), 2-week silicosis group (S2W) and 4-week silicosis group (S4W), with 5 rats in each group. Rats were intratracheally instillated with 1ml crystalline SiO 2 suspension (50 mg/ml) or normal saline and were sacrificed after 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks, HE staining was used to observe the lung pathology of rats. The plasma samples were analyzed by UPLC-IMS-QTOF mass spectrometer to screen out potential differential metabolites in silicosis models and analyze their lipid enrichment. Results:HE results showed that nodules formed in the silicosis model group, and with the extension of time, nodules gradually increased and alveolar structure was gradually destroyed. Metabolomics screened out 14 differential metabolites in S1W, 24 in S2W, and 28 in S4W, and found that the differential metabolites were mainly enriched in the metabolism of glycerophospholipid metabolism, fatty acid degradation, Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) -anchor biosynthesis, fatty acid elongation and other metabolic pathways.Conclusion:There are significant changes in plasma lipid metabolites in silicosis rat models.

Objective:To screen the differential metabolites and metabolic pathways in silicosis model by analyzing plasma metabolomics of silicosis rats.Methods:In May 2021, twenty male SD rats were randomly divided into control group (C), 1-week silicosis group (S1W), 2-week silicosis group (S2W) and 4-week silicosis group (S4W), with 5 rats in each group. Rats were intratracheally instillated with 1ml crystalline SiO 2 suspension (50 mg/ml) or normal saline and were sacrificed after 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks, HE staining was used to observe the lung pathology of rats. The plasma samples were analyzed by UPLC-IMS-QTOF mass spectrometer to screen out potential differential metabolites in silicosis models and analyze their lipid enrichment. Results:HE results showed that nodules formed in the silicosis model group, and with the extension of time, nodules gradually increased and alveolar structure was gradually destroyed. Metabolomics screened out 14 differential metabolites in S1W, 24 in S2W, and 28 in S4W, and found that the differential metabolites were mainly enriched in the metabolism of glycerophospholipid metabolism, fatty acid degradation, Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) -anchor biosynthesis, fatty acid elongation and other metabolic pathways.Conclusion:There are significant changes in plasma lipid metabolites in silicosis rat models.

WRKY is a superfamily of plant-specific transcription factors, playing a critical regulatory role in multiple biological processes such as plant growth and development, metabolism, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Although WRKY genes have been characterized in a variety of higher plants, little is known about them in eukaryotic algae, which are close to higher plants in evolution. To fully characterize algal WRKY family members, we carried out multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic analysis, and conserved domain prediction to identify the WRKY genes in the genomes of 30 algal species. A total of 24 WRKY members were identified in Chlorophyta, whereas no WRKY member was detected in Rhodophyta, Glaucophyta, or Bacillariophyta. The 24 WRKY members were classified into Ⅰ, Ⅱa, Ⅱb and R groups, with a conserved heptapeptide domain WRKYGQ(E/A/H/N)K and a zinc finger motif C-X4-5-C-X22-23-H-X-H. Haematococcus pluvialis, a high producer of natural astaxanthin, contained two WRKY members (HaeWRKY-1 and HaeWRKY-2). Furthermore, the coding sequences of HaeWRKY-1 and HaeWRKY-2 genes were cloned and then inserted into prokaryotic expression vector. The recombinant vectors were induced to express in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells and the fusion proteins were purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. HaeWRKY-1 had significantly higher expression level than HaeWRKY-2 in H. pluvialis cultured under normal conditions. High light stress significantly up-regulated the expression of HaeWRKY-1 while down-regulated that of HaeWRKY-2. The promoters of HaeWRKY genes contained multiple cis-elements responsive to light, ethylene, ABA, and stresses. Particularly, the promoter of HaeWRKY-2 contained no W-box specific for WRKY binding. However, the W-box was detected in the promoters of HaeWRKY-1 and the key enzyme genes HaeBKT (β-carotene ketolase) and HaePSY (phytoene synthase) responsible for astaxanthin biosynthesis. Considering these findings and the research progress in the related fields, we hypothesized that the low expression of HaeWRKY-2 under high light stress may lead to the up-regulation of HaeWRKY-1 expression. HaeWRKY-1 may then up-regulate the expression of the key genes (HaeBKT, HaePSY, etc.) for astaxanthin biosynthesis, consequently promoting astaxanthin enrichment in algal cells. The findings provide new insights into further analysis of the regulatory mechanism of astaxanthin biosynthesis and high light stress response of H. pluvialis.
Eukaryota ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Plants/metabolism* ; Stress, Physiological/genetics* ; Transcription Factors/metabolism*