BACKGROUND:Many recent studies have shown a close relationship between inflammatory cytokines and osteoporosis and bone mineral density(BMD).However,the causal relationship between inflammatory cytokines and BMD has not been fully revealed. OBJECTIVE:To explore the potential causal relationship between inflammatory cytokines and BMD using a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. METHODS:The single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with 41 circulating inflammatory cytokines were selected from the open database of genome-wide association studies(GWAS)as instrumental variables.The GWAS data about BMD were from the Genetic Factors for Osteoporosis Consortium,involving a total of 32 735 individuals of European ancestry.Inverse variance weighting was used as the primary analysis to evaluate the causal effect.Weighted median,MR Egger regression,simple mode,and weighted mode methods were used to supplement the explanation.We used the MR-Egger intercept and MR-PRESSO method to conduct a pleiotropy test,the Cochran's Q test was used to determine whether there was heterogeneity in the results,and the leave-one-out method was used to evaluate the stability of the results.In addition,to more accurately assess the causality,the Bonferroni-corrected test was used to identify inflammatory cytokines that have a strong causal relationship with BMD. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)According to the results of the inverse variance weighting method,we found a positive causal relationship between interleukin-8 and lumbar spine BMD[β=0.075,95%confidence interval(CI):0.033-0.117,P=0.000 5),while a negative causal relationship between interleukin-17 and lumbar spine BMD(β=-0.083,95%CI:-0.152 to-0.014,P=0.018).There might be a negative causal relationship between tumor necrosis factor b and femoral neck BMD(β=-0.053,95%CI:-0.088 to-0.018,P=0.003),while a positive causal relationship between basic fibroblast growth factor and femoral neck BMD(β=0.085,95%CI:0.016-0.154,P=0.015).There might be a negative causal relationship between macrophage inflammatory protein-1a and total body BMD(β=-0.056,95%CI:-0.105 to-0.007,P=0.025).There was a negative causal relationship between interleukin-5(β=-0.019,95%CI:-0.031 to-0.006,P=0.004),stromal cell-derived factor-1a(β=-0.022,95%CI:-0.038 to-0.005,P=0.010),hepatocyte growth factor(β=-0.021,95%CI:-0.041 to-0.002,P=0.030),interleukin-4(β=-0.016,95%CI:-0.032 to-0.001,P=0.034)and heel BMD,while a positive causal relationship between nerve growth factor(β=0.019,95%CI:0.002-0.036,P=0.033),granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(β=0.011,95%CI:0.000-0.022,P=0.050),and heel BMD.Meanwhile,after the Bonferroni-corrected test,there was a strong positive causal effect between interleukin-8 and lumbar spine BMD(P=0.000 5).And consistent directional effects for all analyses were observed in MR Egger,weighted median,simple mode,and weighted mode methods.(2)Sensitivity analyses revealed no heterogeneity,pleiotropy,or outliers for the causal effect of circulating inflammatory cytokines on BMD.

Sensorineural hearing loss is one of the most common sensory disorders. In recent years, auditory neuropathy spectrum disorders caused by mutations in the OTOF gene have garnered significant attention worldwide, marking it as the first deafness gene with breakthroughs in gene therapy. Most patients with OTOF gene mutations present with stable, congenital, or prelingual onset of hearing loss, which can range from severe to profound and even complete hearing loss. However, a minority of patients may exhibit mild to moderate progressive hearing loss or temperature-sensitive hearing loss. This review further explores the genotype-phenotype relationship of the OTOF gene based on reported cases in China and abroad. Additionally, we analyze the characteristics of the natural history of OTOF gene mutations within the Chinese population. This study aims to provide a reference for the clinical diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of hearing loss associated with OTOF gene mutations.
Humans ; Mutation ; Phenotype ; Genotype ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/genetics* ; Membrane Proteins/genetics*

Objective To explore the differences in terahertz(THz)signal characteristics between normal and ischemic liver tissues of New Zealand rabbits using THz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS),thereby providing a novel detection technique for the pathological detection of liver tissues.Methods Liver ischemia models were established in New Zealand rabbits.The THz scanning signal maps of normal and ischemic liver tissues were obtained using a reflective THz-TDS system,and the acquired signals were subjected to principal component analysis.Results Both normal and ischemic liver tissues displayed two distinct peaks in their THz signals.However,the amplitude of the THz signal in ischemic liver tissue was higher than that in normal liver tissue,with significant differences also observed in their signal morphologies.Principal component analysis results revealed a clear clustered distribution between the signals of normal and ischemic liver tissues,indicating that THz-TDS could effectively distinguish between the two tissue types.Conclusion THz-TDS can be applied to the detection of ischemic liver tissue,providing experimental evidence to support further research on the early diagnosis of liver ischemia and exhibiting broad prospects for clinical application.

Objective To explore the differences in terahertz(THz)signal characteristics between normal and ischemic liver tissues of New Zealand rabbits using THz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS),thereby providing a novel detection technique for the pathological detection of liver tissues.Methods Liver ischemia models were established in New Zealand rabbits.The THz scanning signal maps of normal and ischemic liver tissues were obtained using a reflective THz-TDS system,and the acquired signals were subjected to principal component analysis.Results Both normal and ischemic liver tissues displayed two distinct peaks in their THz signals.However,the amplitude of the THz signal in ischemic liver tissue was higher than that in normal liver tissue,with significant differences also observed in their signal morphologies.Principal component analysis results revealed a clear clustered distribution between the signals of normal and ischemic liver tissues,indicating that THz-TDS could effectively distinguish between the two tissue types.Conclusion THz-TDS can be applied to the detection of ischemic liver tissue,providing experimental evidence to support further research on the early diagnosis of liver ischemia and exhibiting broad prospects for clinical application.

To explore the clinical and genetic features of Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) caused by IFIH1 gene mutation.

Foreign body reactions induced by macrophages often cause delay or failure of wound healing in the application of tissue engineering scaffolds. This study explores the application of nanosilver (NAg) to reduce foreign body reactions during scaffold transplantation. An NAg hybrid collagen-chitosan scaffold (NAg-CCS) was prepared using the freeze-drying method. The NAg-CCS was implanted on the back of rats to evaluate the effects on foreign body reactions. Skin tissue samples were collected for histological and immunological evaluation at variable intervals. Miniature pigs were used to assess the effects of NAg on skin wound healing. The wounds were photographed, and tissue samples were collected for molecular biological analysis at different time points post-transplantation. NAg-CCS has a porous structure and the results showed that it could release NAg constantly for two weeks. The NAg-CCS group rarely developed a foreign body reaction, while the blank-CCS group showed granulomas or necrosis in the subcutaneous grafting experiment. Both matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) were reduced significantly in the NAg-CCS group. The NAg-CCS group had higher interleukin (IL)-10 and lower IL-6 than the blank CCS group. In the wound healing study, M1 macrophage activation and inflammatory-related proteins (inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), IL-6, and interferon-‍γ (IFN-‍γ)) were inhibited by NAg. In contrast, M2 macrophage activation and proinflammatory proteins (arginase-1, major histocompatibility complex-II (MHC-II), and found in inflammatory zone-1 (FIZZ-1)) were promoted, and this was responsible for suppressing the foreign body responses and accelerating wound healing. In conclusion, dermal scaffolds containing NAg suppressed the foreign body reaction by regulating macrophages and the expression of inflammatory cytokines, thereby promoting wound healing.
Animals ; Rats ; Swine ; Interleukin-6 ; Macrophage Activation ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; Wound Healing ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Foreign Bodies ; Chitosan

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a heterogeneous primary immunodeficiency characterized by severe bacterial and fungal infections and tissue granuloma formation early in life. Diagnosis of CGD involves the granulocyte function assays and gene mutation analysis. X-linked CGD (XL-CGD) caused by gene defects of CYBB is the most prevalent type of CGD. The clinical data and gene characteristics of a rare female X-chromosome mosaicism leading to inheritance of XL-CGD were reported here. The patient is a 7-year-old boy manifested as recurrent lower respiratory tract infection and failed to thrive. The patient had a history of osteo- myelitis and perianal abscess, with Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine complications. Respiratory burst of neutrophils was measured with DHR oxidation assay and the histogram showing no significant change in neutrophil fluorescence after stimulation of the patient and the mother's histogram had a pattern of 2 peaks after stimulation. A heterozygous mutation in the CYBB gene (c.866G > A, p.W289X) was identified through inheritance from the patient's mother. Genetic analysis from blood and cheek mucosal cells indicated the female was a mosaicism in CYBB with mutation was present in about 19.5% of her leukocytes. We reported the clinical data and gene characteristics of a rare female X-chromosome mosaicism leading to inheritance of XL-CGD for the first time in China to enrich the understanding of XL-CGD and provide new sights for the hereditary counseling.

The clinical data of a child with ABCB1 rs1045642 T/T genotype and skin photosensitivity induced by Voriconazole were analyzed retrospectively in Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University in September 2020.Literature was reviewed to discuss the relationship between ABCB1 genetic polymorphism and Voriconazole pharmacokinetics.The patient was a 6.8-year-old boy, who was diagnosed with primary immunodeficiency disease.Long-term oral Voriconazole was administered for prevention and treatment of fungal infections.Skin photodistributed erythema and pigmentation occurred about 3-4 weeks after treatment.The skin lesions were significantly alleviated about 1 month after the withdrawal of Voriconazole.Gene test showed ABCB1 rs1045642 T/T in the patient.Some studies reported that ABCB1 rs1045642 T/T genotype reduced the clearance rate of Voriconazole.Monitoring such adverse reaction of Voriconazole in clinical practice is important. ABCB1 gene polymorphism is possible to correlate with the pharmacokinetics and adverse reactions of Voriconazole.However, further large-scale clinical studies are warranted to verify it.

Cucurbitaceae is an important family of flowering plants containing multiple species of important food plants, such as melons, cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins. However, a highly efficient genetic transformation system has not been established for most of these species (Nanasato and Tabei, 2020). Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), an economically important and globally cultivated fruit crop, is a model species for fruit quality research due to its rich diversity of fruit size, shape, flavor, aroma, texture, peel and flesh color, and nutritional composition (Guo et al., 2019). Through pan-genome sequencing, many candidate loci associated with fruit quality traits have been identified (Guo et al., 2019). However, few of these loci have been validated. The major barrier is the low transformation efficiency of the species, with only few successful cases of genetic transformation reported so far (Tian et al., 2017; Feng et al., 2021; Wang JF et al., 2021; Wang YP et al., 2021). For example, Tian et al. (2017) obtained only 16 transgenic lines from about 960 cotyledon fragments, yielding a transformation efficiency of 1.67%. Therefore, efficient genetic transformation could not only facilitate the functional genomic studies in watermelon as well as other horticultural species, but also speed up the transgenic and genome-editing breeding.
CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Citrullus/genetics* ; Cucurbitaceae/genetics* ; Gene Editing ; Plant Breeding ; Transformation, Genetic

Objective: To explore the clinical application value of mixed reality technology in locating perforator vessels and assisting perforator vessel dissection to harvest anterolateral thigh flaps. Methods: Six patients who needed anterolateral thigh flap repair after resection of oral and maxillofacial tumors were recruited from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Nanchong Central Hospital from January 2020 to January 2021. Before surgery, the CT angiography data of the lower limbs of the patients carrying the calibration points were imported into the data workstation to perform 3D reconstruction of the perforator vessels and surrounding tissues of the thigh, and the reconstruction results were imported into Microsoft HoloLens 2 glasses. During the operation, calibration was performed at the calibration point of the operative area so that the preoperative reconstruction results were superimposed on the operative area through Microsoft HoloLens 2 glasses. The clinical application value of mixed reality technology assisted perforator vessel location and anatomy of anterolateral femoral perforator flap was discussed from six aspects: whether the perforator vessel was reconstructed preoperatively, intraoperative calibration time, whether the actual position of the perforating vessels passing through the fascia lata fulcrum deviated from the preoperative reconstruction result within 1 cm, time required to harvest the flap, and whether the actual route of the perforator vessel was consistent with the reconstruction result, and whether the postoperative flap survived. Results : The position and course of perforating vessels were successfully reconstructed in 6 cases before the operation. The actual course of perforating vessels during the operation was consistent with the reconstruction results. The deviation between the actual position of the perforating points and the preoperative reconstruction results was within 1 cm, which met the requirements of the actual asisting of the anterolateral thigh flap. The average time of flap harvest was (70.50 ± 7.20) min. The average calibration time was (13.33 ± 5.50) min. All flaps survived. Conclusions Mixed reality technology projects the reconstruction results of anterolateral femoral perforator vessels directly into the operative area, which provides a new method for asisting localization and anatomy of anterolateral femoral flap perforator vessels and reduces the possibility of injury to perforator vessels.