ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between acne vulgaris and gut microbiota. MethodsA total of 29 clinical cases diagnosed with moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris and 26 healthy individuals as control subjects were recruited. Fecal specimens were collected from all participants， and further analysis of gut microbial communities was performed by leveraging high-throughput sequencing techniques that target the hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA genes. ResultsAssociations between acne vulgaris and alterations in gut microbiota were identified. At the phylum level， the relative abundance of Bacteroidota exhibited a statistically significant elevation in the acne vulgaris cohort when compared with the healthy control group （P<0.01）， while Cyanobacteria was significantly lower in the acne group （P<0.01）. At the genus level， the top five different bacterial taxa in both groups were Bacteroides， Escherichia⁃Shigella， Klebsiella， Roseburia， and Parabacteroides. Among them， Bacteroides， Roseburia， and Parabacteroides were more abundant in acne patients. Linear discriminant analysis identified five biomarkers all belonging to the Bacteroidota phylum in the acne and control groups. These biomarkers belong to the phylum Bacteroidetes. ConclusionThere are significant differences in the composition of intestinal microbiota between acne patients and healthy people. Changes in the richness of specific bacterial genera may become new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of acne.

AIM:To explore whether microRNA-30a-3p(miR-30a-3p)is involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)by regulating autophagy and promoting lipid deposition.METHODS:Eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a normal control group and a high-fat diet(HFD)group.Mice in the HFD group were fed with 60％high fat diet for 10 weeks to induce the NAFLD phenotype.Some mice were injected with adeno-virus overexpressing miR-30a-3p via the tail vein and subsequently fed with high-fat diet for 4 weeks.Glucose tolerance and insulin resistance tests were performed at the end of the treatments.In addition,the concentrations of hepatic alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),triglyceride(TG)and total cholesterol(TC)were mea-sured.Hematoxylin-eosin staining and oil red O staining were conducted to examine morphological changes and lipid depo-sition in the liver tissue.The expression levels of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3(LC3),autophagy-related protein 5(ATG5),beclin-1 and p62 were quantified through Western blot.In addition,NAFLD models were established in AML12 hepatocytes by incubating the cells with palmitic acid and oleic acid(PO).The AML12 cells were transfected with miR-30a-3p shRNA to knock down miR-30a-3p expression.The concentration levels of TG and TC after miR-30a-3p knockdown were measured by the kits.Nile red staining was performed to examine lipid droplet aggregation and dual fluo-rescent recombinant adenovirus Ad-mCherry-GFP-LC3B was transfected into AML12 cells to observe changes in autopha-gic flow.RESULTS:HFD-fed mice exhibited significant insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance,significant lip-id deposition in the liver tissue,coupled with increased hepatic ALT,AST,TG and TC levels.The expression levels of au-tophagy-related proteins LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1,and ATG5 were decreased,while that of p62 was increased(P<0.01).More-over,miR-30a-3p overexpression significantly increased blood glucose and insulin resistance in HFD-fed mice.However,it aggravated lipid droplets deposition in liver tissue and enhanced hepatic TG,TC,AST and ALT levels.Western blot re-vealed that the expression levels of LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1 and ATG5 were further reduced,while that of p62 was significantly in-creased(P<0.01).In vitro,we observed that the TG and TC levels,as well as lipid accumulation in PO-treated AML12 cells were increased significantly.Similarly,the expression levels of LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1 and ATG5 were decreased,whereas that of p62 increased in PO-treated AML12 cells(P<0.01).Notably,knockdown of miR-30a-3p resulted in a significant reduction in the TG content in PO-treated AML12 cells and lipid droplet aggregation was significantly suppressed.Further-more,the expression of LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1 and ATG5 proteins was increased,while that of p62 was decreased significantly and the autophagy flow was improved(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:The miR-30a-3p exacerbates hepatic lipid deposi-tion,inducing severe hepatic steatosis and liver damage,to promote the occurrence and development of NAFLD in mice.Mechanistically,its effects involve inhibition of hepatic autophagy level.

AIM:To explore whether microRNA-30a-3p(miR-30a-3p)is involved in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)by regulating autophagy and promoting lipid deposition.METHODS:Eight-week-old C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a normal control group and a high-fat diet(HFD)group.Mice in the HFD group were fed with 60％high fat diet for 10 weeks to induce the NAFLD phenotype.Some mice were injected with adeno-virus overexpressing miR-30a-3p via the tail vein and subsequently fed with high-fat diet for 4 weeks.Glucose tolerance and insulin resistance tests were performed at the end of the treatments.In addition,the concentrations of hepatic alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),triglyceride(TG)and total cholesterol(TC)were mea-sured.Hematoxylin-eosin staining and oil red O staining were conducted to examine morphological changes and lipid depo-sition in the liver tissue.The expression levels of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3(LC3),autophagy-related protein 5(ATG5),beclin-1 and p62 were quantified through Western blot.In addition,NAFLD models were established in AML12 hepatocytes by incubating the cells with palmitic acid and oleic acid(PO).The AML12 cells were transfected with miR-30a-3p shRNA to knock down miR-30a-3p expression.The concentration levels of TG and TC after miR-30a-3p knockdown were measured by the kits.Nile red staining was performed to examine lipid droplet aggregation and dual fluo-rescent recombinant adenovirus Ad-mCherry-GFP-LC3B was transfected into AML12 cells to observe changes in autopha-gic flow.RESULTS:HFD-fed mice exhibited significant insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance,significant lip-id deposition in the liver tissue,coupled with increased hepatic ALT,AST,TG and TC levels.The expression levels of au-tophagy-related proteins LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1,and ATG5 were decreased,while that of p62 was increased(P<0.01).More-over,miR-30a-3p overexpression significantly increased blood glucose and insulin resistance in HFD-fed mice.However,it aggravated lipid droplets deposition in liver tissue and enhanced hepatic TG,TC,AST and ALT levels.Western blot re-vealed that the expression levels of LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1 and ATG5 were further reduced,while that of p62 was significantly in-creased(P<0.01).In vitro,we observed that the TG and TC levels,as well as lipid accumulation in PO-treated AML12 cells were increased significantly.Similarly,the expression levels of LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1 and ATG5 were decreased,whereas that of p62 increased in PO-treated AML12 cells(P<0.01).Notably,knockdown of miR-30a-3p resulted in a significant reduction in the TG content in PO-treated AML12 cells and lipid droplet aggregation was significantly suppressed.Further-more,the expression of LC3-Ⅱ,beclin-1 and ATG5 proteins was increased,while that of p62 was decreased significantly and the autophagy flow was improved(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:The miR-30a-3p exacerbates hepatic lipid deposi-tion,inducing severe hepatic steatosis and liver damage,to promote the occurrence and development of NAFLD in mice.Mechanistically,its effects involve inhibition of hepatic autophagy level.

Objective:To investigate the post-traumatic stress response in women with unintended pregnancy termination and analyze its related factors.Methods:Totally 388 women with unintended pregnancy termination from two public hospitals in Fujian were selected as the research subjects.They were assessed with the Impact of E-vent Scale-Revised(IES-R),Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS),Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale(CD-RISC)and Perinatal Grief Scale(PGS).The total score of IES-R ≥35 was positive for post-traumatic stress disorder screening.Results:The total score of IES-R was(20.6±12.4),and the positive rate of post-traumatic stress disorder screening was 16.5％.Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the IES-R total scores were higher in those who thought pregnancy timing was appropriate than those who thought pregnancy timing was wrong(β=0.13),and lower in women with moderate pain during termination than in those with severe pain(β=-0.09).The IES-R total scores were positively correlated with gestational weeks,depression scores of the HADS and grief scores of the PGS(β=0.18,0.27,0.16),and negatively correlated with optimism scores of the CD-RISC(β=-0.12).Conclusion:The post-traumatic stress response of unintended termination of pregnancy is at a moder-ate level.Post-traumatic stress symptoms are more likely to occur in women who thought pregnancy timing is ap-propriate,and those with severe pain during pregnancy termination,large gestational weeks,high level of depression during pregnancy,and high level of grief after pregnancy termination.

Apoptosis ; Autophagy ; Ferroptosis ; Iron/metabolism* ; Sequestosome-1 Protein/metabolism* ; Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases/metabolism*

Objective:To detect gene mutations in patients with mild phenotypes of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) .Methods:From June 2017 to June 2020, 5 probands with mild phenotypes of NF1 only involving the skin and their family members were collected from Department of Dermatology, Fengxian Institute of Dermatosis Prevention and Treatment in Shanghai. Pedigree investigation was performed to evaluate the clinical phenotypes of NF1. The second-generation targeted gene sequencing combined with Sanger sequencing was performed to detect and verify pathogenic mutations.Results:All the 5 probands presented with only skin lesions, including café-au-lait spots, freckles, neurofibromas, but no other systemic involvement. A total of 5 mutations were identified in different exons of the NF1 gene in the 5 families, including 1 large-fragment deletion mutation (hg38: chr17:31327199-31335928 del 8 730 bp) , 1 splicing mutation (C.7970+1G>T) , 1 insertion mutation (C.3011_3012insTATG, p.N1004fs*) , 1 deletion mutation (C.1754_1757delTAAC, p.T586Vfs*18) , and 1 nonsense mutation (c.C503G, p.S168X) , and the first 3 above mentioned mutations were previously unreported novel mutations.Conclusion:Five mutations were identified in the 5 families with mild phenotypes of NF1, including 3 novel mutations, which expand the mutational spectrum of NF1.

Objective To preliminarily optimize the energy and density of laser radiation for the early treatment of hyperplastic scars in a rabbit ear model,and to explore possible therapeutic mechanisms.Methods Sixty-one hyperplastic scars were successfully established on the ears of 10 healthy New Zealand white rabbits with large ears,and randomly divided into 2 groups:1-week group (30 scars) and 3-week group (31 scars).These 2 groups were separately divided into 5 subgroups:group A treated with laser at a density of 100 PPA and an energy of 10 mJ,group B with laser at a density of 100 PPA and an energy of 50 mJ,group C with laser at a density of 169 PPA and an energy of 10 mJ,group D with laser at a density of 169 PPA and an energy of 50 mJ,and group E receiving no treatment.There were 6 scars in each group,except the group E in the 3-week group.Two healthy New Zealand white rabbits with large ears were not subjected to modeling,and served as group F (blank control group).Immunohistochemical study was performed to determine the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13 in the skin tissues from the rabbit ears 1 week after the treatment.Three weeks after the treatment,the skin tissues from the rabbit ears were subjected to hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Masson staining.Then,the structure of scars was observed,and scar elevation index was calculated.Statistical analysis was carried out by Kruskal-Wallis H test for the comparison of scar elevation index,and by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the comparison of the average absorbance value of MMP-13.Results As HE staining revealed,the groups A,B,C and D all showed thicker dermis and increased number of collagen fibers compared with the group F (normal skin tissues),but showed thinner dermis,decreased number and more ordered arrangement of collagen fibers compared with the group E (untreated scar tissues).No obvious difference was observed in the thickness of the dermis among the groups A,B,C and D.The scar elevation index significantly differed among the 6 groups (H =22.757,P ＜ 0.05).Multiple comparisons showed that the scar elevation index was significantly lower in the groups B,C and D (2.597 ± 0.344,2.850 ± 0.282,2.658 ± 0.134,respectively)than in the group E (3.460 ± 0.583,all P ＜ 0.05).As Masson staining revealed,the groups A,B,C and D all showed thinner dermis and more irregular arrangement of collagen fibers compared with the group E.However,no obvious differences were observed in the dermal thickness or number of collagen fibers among the groups A,B,C and D.Immunohistochemical study showed that the expression of MMP-13 was significantly higher in the high-energy (50 mJ) laser groups than in the low-energy (10 mJ) laser groups (P ＜ 0.05) at the same laser density.With the same laser energy,the expression of MMP-13 was significantly higher in the group A than in the group C (P ＜ 0.01),but there was no significant difference between the group B and D (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions Non-ablative fractional laser is effective for the treatment of early-stage hyperplastic scars.At the same laser density,50-mJ laser was superior to 10-mJ laser for the treatment of hyperplastic scars,likely because high-energy laser can stimulate the recombination of extracellular matrices and up-regulated MMP-13 expression to a greater extent.

Objective To analyse the relationship between hepatic function index and perinatal-prognosis in patients with the intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy(ICP). Methods The clinical data of 85 the patients with ICP in our department were retrospectively reviewed. Results The more the serum levels of TBA,SGPT and TBIL in the patients with ICP were, the more incidence of fetal distress, amniotic fluid contamination and asphyxia neonatorum would be (P