1.Whole-genome sequencing analysis of co-existing bacteria in platelet products: genomic features and biological implications
Qiqi WANG ; Yuwei ZHAO ; Xue CHEN ; Zhan GAO ; Miao HE
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2026;39(3):305-316
Objective: To establish a rapid, accurate, and decentralized workflow for bacterial whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and risk profiling within the shelf-life of platelet concentrates, and to characterize the species, virulence, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and immune evasion mechanisms of co-existing bacteria in qualified platelet products, thereby providing a scientific basis for transfusion safety assessment. Methods: Three units of platelet concentrates, which tested negative by routine bacterial screening, were collected from the Chengdu Blood Center between May and June 2025. Samples were enriched at 37℃under six aerobic and nine anaerobic conditions for 7 days. Using a culturomics strategy, aliquots were plated for isolation on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 to obtain cultivable isolates, with negative culture controls included to exclude contamination. High-molecular-weight genomic DNA was extracted via mechanical grinding, purified, and size-selected. Sequencing libraries were constructed and sequenced on the G-seq500 single-molecule nanopore sequencing platform. Genomes were assembled using Flye and polished with NextPolish, with quality evaluated by BUSCO and CheckM. Taxonomic identification was performed using GTDB-Tk. Functional annotation and database comparisons were conducted to analyze virulence factors, AMR genes, and genes related to immune evasion and environmental adaptation. Results: Viable bacteria were successfully isolated from all three qualified platelet units within their shelf life. The isolates were identified as Bacillus albus, Niallia taxi, and Staphylococcus warneri. Nanopore sequencing generated 92 227-109 813 reads (totaling 680-758 Mb) with an N50 of 7 625-8 584 bp and Q20/Q30 scores of 97%/93%, respectively. All three genomes were assembled into complete circular chromosomes with 1-3 plasmids, achieving >93% completeness. Functional analysis revealed that B. albus carried multiple hemolysins, metalloproteases, and multidrug resistance genes, indicating the highest potential pathogenicity and AMR risk. S. warneri exhibited a typical multidrug resistance profile and regulatory network characteristic of coagulase-negative staphylococci, suggesting intermediate virulence. N. taxi harbored few canonical virulence factors and lacked functional AMR determinants, presenting a "low-virulence, low-resistance" profile. Notably, all three strains were enriched in genes encoding antimicrobial peptide resistance systems (e.g., dltABCD, mprF, GraRS, BceAB) and antioxidant enzymes, suggesting a strong capacity to withstand immune stress in the blood environment. Conclusion: Viable bacteria can be recovered from qualified platelet concentrates that test negative by routine screening. Nanopore WGS enables rapid strain-level identification and comprehensive risk profiling of virulence, resistance, and immune adaptation traits. The functional repertoires of these "co-existing" isolates range from environmental adaptation to potential pathogenicity, representing an underappreciated risk for transfusion-transmitted infections in susceptible recipients.
2.Unveiling the metabolic fate of drugs through metabolic reaction-based molecular networking.
Haodong ZHU ; Xupeng TONG ; Qi WANG ; Aijing LI ; Zubao WU ; Qiqi WANG ; Pei LIN ; Xinsheng YAO ; Liufang HU ; Liangliang HE ; Zhihong YAO
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(6):3210-3225
Effective annotation of in vivo drug metabolites using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) remains a formidable challenge. Herein, a metabolic reaction-based molecular networking (MRMN) strategy is introduced, which enables the "one-pot" discovery of prototype drugs and their metabolites. MRMN constructs networks by matching metabolic reactions and evaluating MS2 spectral similarity, incorporating innovations and improvements in feature degradation of MS2 spectra, exclusion of endogenous interference, and recognition of redundant nodes. A minimum 75% correlation between structural similarity and MS2 similarity of neighboring metabolites was ensured, mitigating false negatives due to spectral feature degradation. At least 79% of nodes, 49% of edges, and 97% of subnetworks were reduced by an exclusion strategy of endogenous ions compared to the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) platform. Furthermore, an approach of redundant ions identification was refined, achieving a 10%-40% recognition rate across different samples. The effectiveness of MRMN was validated through a single compound, plant extract, and mixtures of multiple plant extracts. Notably, MRMN is freely accessible online at https://yaolab.network, broadening its applications.
3.Clinical characteristics and genetic analysis of a case with 47,XYY Disorder of sex development due to variant of NR5A1 gene.
Yanan LIU ; Jie LI ; Qiqi XU ; Ying YANG ; Linlin HE ; Honglei DUAN
Chinese Journal of Medical Genetics 2025;42(8):931-936
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the clinical phenotype and genetic etiology of a patient with tall stature and primary amenorrhea presenting with 47,XYY Disorder of sex development (DSD).
METHODS:
A female patient presenting with "tall stature and primary amenorrhea" at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital in July 2024 was selected as the study subject. A retrospective study design was employed to collect the patient's clinical data. Peripheral venous blood sample was collected. Following the extraction of genomic DNA, genetic testing was performed including chromosomal karyotyping analysis, copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq), multiplex PCR for the AZF regions and sex-determining genes Y (SRY), and whole-exome sequencing (WES). Candidate variants were validated by Sanger sequencing and classified for pathogenicity based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (Ethics No.: 2022-451-01).
RESULTS:
The patient had a height of 188 cm and a body weight of 50 kg, in addition with infantile uterus, absent ovaries, and primary amenorrhea. G-banded karyotyping analysis of peripheral blood sample revealed 47,XYY. CNV-seq indicated Seq[GRCh37]Yp11.32q12×2. No deletion was detected in the AZF regions of Y chromosome, and SRY was positive. WES identified a heterozygous c.86C>A (p.Thr29Lys) variant of the NR5A1 gene, leading to substitution of threonine with lysine at position 29 of the encoded protein. Sanger sequencing confirmed the presence of the variant. According to the ACMG guidelines, this variant was classified as variant of uncertain significance (VUS) with supporting evidence (PS3_Moderate+PM5+PP3+PM2_Supporting+PS4_Supporting). Reviewing the nearly 60 years of previously reported cases, all 7 documented 47,XYY DSD patients were assigned a female social gender and presented with abnormal gonadal and external genitalia development. Among them, 5 cases underwent SRY testing, all of which were positive. Only 1 case underwent whole-exome sequencing (WES), but no pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants were identified.
CONCLUSION
This DSD patient presented with the clinical features of tall stature and primary amenorrhea. The NR5A1 gene variant c.86C>A (p.Thr29Lys) probably underlay the Disorder of sex development in this patient. Above finding has enriched the spectrum of pathogenic variants of the NR5A1 gene.
Humans
;
Female
;
Steroidogenic Factor 1/genetics*
;
DNA Copy Number Variations/genetics*
;
XYY Karyotype/genetics*
;
Karyotyping
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Phenotype
;
Sex Chromosome Disorders of Sex Development/genetics*
;
Sex Chromosome Disorders
4.Deep mining of healthy blood metagenomics and phageomes
Lin ZHU ; Qiqi WANG ; Yulian XU ; Yang HUANG ; Zhan GAO ; Miao HE
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2024;37(10):1091-1100
Objective To explore the presence and potential interactions of microbes and bacteriophages in the blood of healthy individuals by employing in-depth bioinformatics mining to analyze the structure and function of the blood microbi-ome ecosystem.Methods Blood plasma samples from 1 600 voluntary blood donors collected at Mianyang Central Blood Station from 2012 to 2018 were subjected to DNA extraction and library construction.High-throughput sequencing was con-ducted using the Illumina HiSeq 4500 platform,followed by extensive bioinformatics analysis.Microbial abundance in blood samples was analyzed using metagenomic analysis software such as Bowtie2,Trimmomatic and Kraken.Subsequent phage-ome analysis included sequence quality control,assembly,identification,clustering and functional annotation using software such as Megahit,geNomad,CheckV and eggNOG-mapper.Phylogenetic trees,species annotation and host analysis and pre-diction for the identified blood bacteriophages were constructed using iTOL,BLAST and PhaBOX software.Results Met-agenomic sequencing identified microbes across 36 phyla,151 orders,338 families,338 genera and 3 757 species in the plasma samples.At the species level,the most abundant species included Bacillus cereus,Lactobacillus murinus,L.johnso-nii,Faecalibacterium prausnitzii,B.thuringiensis,L.reuteri,Cutibacterium acnes,Dietzia sp.JS16-p6b,Mycoplasma hyo-rhinis,M.hyopneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus.Through phageome analysis,202 viral Operational Taxonomic Units(vOTUs)were identified,revealing 24 types of bacteriophages.Host analysis using the viral host database completed mat-ches for 15 potential bacteriophage hosts,including Stenotrophomonas maltophilia,Rhodoferax lacus,Pseudoalteromonas marina,Thalassotalea loyana,Vibrio alginolyticus,V.tasmaniensis,V.vulnificus,Pseudomonas sp.,Agrobacterium sp.ST15.13/040,Enterococcus gallinarum,Flavobacterium sp.,Thermotoga naphthophila,Chryseobacterium sp.RU33C,L.acidipiscis and Neisseria mucosa.Conclusion The study of the healthy human blood microbiome and phageome reveals the presence of microbes and phages in the blood,which may have profound impacts on human health.
5.Overexpression of miR-378a promotes macrophage M2 polarization and inhibits M1 polarization
Quan YANG ; Huiyu HE ; Sifan WANG ; Shangyi LYU ; Qiqi ZHOU ; Xiangzhen HAN
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2024;28(13):2036-2041
BACKGROUND:M2 macrophages have the function of reducing inflammatory factors and promoting tissue healing.Therefore,how to regulate M2 polarization of macrophages has been a hot research topic in recent years,and some miRNAs have been found to have this function. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of miR-378a on the polarization of the Raw264.7 macrophage cell line. METHODS:The M1 polarization of macrophages was induced by lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ.Interleukin-4 induced M2 polarization and the expression of endogenous miR-378a in each cell type was detected using qRT-PCR to verify whether miR-378a was involved in the polarization of macrophages.By transfection with lentivirus as the vector of overexpression of miR-378a,the stable expression of miR-378a cell lines was screened.Macrophage M1 polarization was induced synergically by lipopolysaccharide and interferon-γ.Macrophage M2 polarization was induced by interleukin-4.The levels of M1/M2 polarization-related cytokines in the supernatant of the macrophage culture medium were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.qRT-PCR was used to detect the polarization characteristics of M1/M2-type macrophages and the mRNA expression levels of related cytokines. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The expression level of endogenous miR-378a in Raw264.7 cells of each group increased after macrophage polarization.(2)Compared with the non-transfected group,the expressions of proinflammatory cytokine-induced nitric oxide synthase,tumor necrosis factor-α,interleukin-6 and interleukin-1β in macrophage M1 induced polarization were significantly decreased in the miR-378a transfection group(P<0.05);the levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase,tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in cell supernatant were also significantly decreased(P<0.05).(3)Compared with the non-transfected group,the expressions of CD206,interleukin-10 and arginase-I in macrophage M2 induced polarization were significantly increased(P<0.05);the levels of CD206 and interleukin-10 in cell supernatant were also significantly increased(P<0.05)in the miR-378a transfection group.(4)It is indicated that overexpression of miR-378a promotes the M2 polarization of macrophages and inhibits the M1 polarization of macrophages.
6.Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for children with severe aplastic anemia: a retrospective analysis from a single center
Min HE ; Qiqi YI ; Hailing LIU ; Ding DING ; Man XU ; Guoli LIAN ; Xiaoning WANG
Chinese Pediatric Emergency Medicine 2024;31(7):507-511
Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(allo-HSCT)in children with severe aplastic anemia(SAA).Methods:Twenty-seven cases with SAA who had been treated with allo-HSCT from January 2020 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed and reviewed.Results:(1)A total of 27 SAA patients were enrolled,including 18 males and 9 females,with a median age of 8 (2-15) years.There were 20 cases of SAA-Ⅰ type,7 cases of SAA-Ⅱ type.Based upon donor sources,three cases of matched sibling donors hematopoietic stem cell transplantation,and 24 cases of haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were adopted.(2)Hematopoietic reconstruction was achieved in all 27 cases.The median implantation time of neutrophils and platelets was 10(9-20)days and 12(7-26)days respectively.The cumulative incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease(GVHD)was 66.67%(18/27).The incidence of grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ was 55.56%(15/27)and that of grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ was 11.11%(3/27).The incidence of chronic GVHD was 7.41%(2/27).Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) occurred in 7.41%(2/27)patients,cytomegalovirus viremia in 62.96%(17/27)patients,epstein-barr virus infection in 33.33%(9/27)patients,and 14.81%(4/27)patients progressed to post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD).(3)The median follow-up time was 12 (2-28) months.The overall survival rate was 96.29%.Twenty-six patients survived,and one patient died due to multiple complications of severe acute GVHD,TA-TMA,cytomegalovirus infection,PTLD and secondary epilepsy.Conclusion:Allo-HSCT is an effective therapy for SAA in children.The effective rate of this research is 96.29%.Acute GVHD is still the key to therapy.The incidence rate of acute GVHD is 66.67% in this study.The blood incompatibility of donor and recipient may affect the incidence of GVHD.The intensity of GVHD prevention should be reduced after HLA-matched sibling donor-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation so as to avoid the complications of virus recurrence and PTLD.
7.Interpretation of 2023 International League Against Epilepsy guidelines: treatment of seizures in the neonate
Shiguo ZHAO ; Zihao YANG ; Zhenjie CHEN ; Shanshan XIA ; Weimei HE ; Xiaofang LOU ; Hongqin ZHOU ; Qiqi SHAO ; Chenmei ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Neurology 2024;57(6):682-688
According to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) standards, the Newborn Working Group of the ILAE put forward 6 necessary questions about the management of neonatal anti-seizure medication and gave evidence-based recommendations in 2023. The basic framework is systematic review+expert consensus. The clinical recommendations of ILAE guidelines 2023 and the similarities and differences between ILAE guidelines 2023 and ILAE guidelines 2011 were analyzed and interpreted in this paper, in order to provide reference for colleagues involved in neonatal convulsion management in China.
8.Construction and validation of a risk assessment model for frailty in elderly patients with lower extremity osteoarthritis
Jiaoni SHEN ; Hangting LI ; Jia WU ; Qiqi NI ; Xinrui WAN ; Guijuan HE
Chinese Journal of Nursing 2024;59(18):2206-2213
Objective To analyze the influencing factors of frailty in elderly patients with lower extremity osteoarthritis,and to construct and validate the risk assessment model.Methods Convenient sampling method was used to select 535 elderly patients with lower extremity osteoarthritis from tertiary hospitals and community health service centers in Hangzhou from January to September 2022 as the survey subjects including 357 in the modeling group and 178 in the validation group.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to determine the risk factors of frailty,construct a risk assessment model and draw a nomogram.The discrimination and calibration of the model were evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test.The Bootstrap method was used for intemal validation of the model,and the time verification method was used for external validation.Results The model variables included the number of affected joints,age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index,pain,nutritional status,sedentary time,activity of daily living,osteoarthritis index,lower limb muscle strength,and Social Support Rating Scale score.The Hosmer-Lemeshow test results of the model showed that P=0.202,the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.942,the optimal critical value was 0.392,the sensitivity was 0.914,the specificity was 0.893,and the accuracy rate was 0.902.The internal and external validation showed that the C-statistics were 0.935 and 0.919,respectively,and the calibration curve showed good fitting.Conclusion The risk assessment model has a good degree of discrimination and calibration,which can more intuitively and easily screen elderly patients with lower extremity osteoarthritis at high risk of frailty,and provide references for early monitoring,identification,prevention and control.
9.Secondary donor-derived CD19 CAR-T therapy is safe and efficacious in acute lymphoblastic leukemia with extramedullary relapse after first autologous CAR-T therapy.
Delin KONG ; Tingting YANG ; Jia GENG ; Ruirui JING ; Qiqi ZHANG ; Guoqing WEI ; He HUANG ; Yongxian HU
Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 2022;23(10):876-880
Despite the advancement of treatments, adults with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) have poor prognosis, with an expected five-year overall survival (OS) rate of 10%‒20% (Nguyen et al., 2008; Oriol et al., 2010). Extramedullary relapse of B-ALL is regarded as a high-risk factor generally associated with poor survival, occurring in about 15% to 20% of all relapsed patients (Ding et al., 2017; Sun et al., 2018). The central nervous system (CNS) and the testes are the most common sites of extramedullary relapse of B-ALL. In addition, extramedullary leukemia can appear in the skin, eyes, breasts, bones, muscles, and abdominal organs. The prognosis of relapsed extramedullary B-ALL after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is extremely poor (Spyridonidis et al., 2012; Dahlberg et al., 2019). Conventional chemotherapy or radiation is often ineffective in such patients. At present, there are no optimal treatment strategies for treating extramedullary leukemia after allo-HSCT.
Adult
;
Antigens, CD19
;
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
;
Humans
;
Immunotherapy, Adoptive/adverse effects*
;
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy*
;
Receptors, Chimeric Antigen
;
Recurrence
10.CircularRNA CDR1as promotes osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis related genes expression in mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells
YANG Weizhe ; HAN Xiangzhen ; ZHENG Meijie ; ZHOU Qiqi ; HE Huiyu
Journal of Prevention and Treatment for Stomatological Diseases 2022;30(6):390-397
Objective:
To investigate the effects of over expression and low expression of antisense transcripts of circular RNA cerebellar degeneration associated protein 1 (CDR1as) in Balb/C mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on factors related to osteogenesis and angiogenesis.
Methods:
BMSCs were cultured and identified in vitro. The lentiviral (LV) vector containing the overexpressed and silenced circRNA CDR1as genes and the control lentivirus were respectively transfected into mouse BMSCs, and stable cell lines were screened. The cells were divided into the circRNACDR1as over expression group and the over expression control group, and the CircRNACDR1as low expression group and the low expression control group. The components were stained with Alizarin Red S and alkaline phosphatase after 14 and 21 days of osteoinduction; qRT-PCR was used to detect the target genes circRNA CDR1as, osteogenic differentiation markers alkaline phosphatase (ALP), runt- related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), osteocalcin (OCN), osteopontin (OPN), osterix(Osx), collagen I (COL-1), and the mRNA expression levels of vascular endothelial grown factor (VEGF) and angiogenin-1 (Ang-1).
Results:
The results of alizarin red staining and alkaline phosphatase staining showed that the extracellular matrix calcium precipitation and ALP staining area of the over expression experimental group was greater than its control group, and those of the low expression experimental group was less than its control group. As the number of days of osteogenic induction increased, the calcium precipitation and ALP staining in each group also increased. RT-PCR results showed that the mRNA expression levels of circRNA CDR1as, ALP, RUNX2, OCN, OPN, OSX, COL-1, VEGF and Ang-1 in the over expression experimental group BMSCs were significantly increased (P<0.001). In the low expression experimental group, the mRNA expression levels of circRNA CDR1as, ALP, RUNX2, OCN, OPN, OSX, COL-1, VEGF and Ang-1 in BMSCs were significantly reduced (P<0.001).
Conclusion
Over expression of the circRNA CDR1as gene promotes the osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis of BMSCs. Low expression of the circRNA CDR1as gene inhibits the osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis of BMSCs.


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