[Objective] To determine the blood group of a patient with ABO forward and reverse typing discrepancies using PacBio third-generation sequencing (TGS) technology, and to explore the application of serological methods and molecular biological methods in identifying chimeric blood groups. [Methods] The blood group serology testing was utilized. PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of exons 1-7 of the ABO gene were conducted. The full-length sequencing of the ABO gene and haplotype analysis were carried out by PacBio third-generation sequencing technology. Short tandem repeat typing was also performed. [Results] Serological testing suggested a suspected B subtype, which appeared mixed field of vision with anti-B antibodies and showed 2+mf strength agglutination. Sanger sequencing revealed a homozygous ABO^* O. 01. 01 genotype with the c. 261delG mutation in exon 6. PacBio TGS identified a predominant ABO^* O. 01. 01/ABO^* O. 01. 01 genotype and a low proportion of ABO^* B. 01. Nine locis of twenty short tandem repeat (STR) locis showed three or four types of genotypes in STR analysis, confirming chimerism. [Conclusion] The sample was a B/O blood group chimerism. The low proportion of ABO^* B. 01 chimerism was the true cause for the serological mixed field of vision. The PacBio third-generation sequencing technology can not only determine the ABO gene haplotype but also detect a low proportion gene chimerism in ABO blood groups.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of 3D printing technology combined with computer navigation-assisted screw implantation in the treatment of atlantoaxial instability (AAI) complicated by vertebral artery anomalies.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 23 patients with AAI complicated by vertebral artery anomalies who were admitted to Honghui Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University between January 2019 and January 2023, including 10 males and 13 females, aged 19-70 years [(51.0±13.3)years]. Vertebral artery anomalies were categorized into unilateral high-riding vertebral artery with unilateral dominance ( n=14), bilateral high-riding vertebral arteries with unilateral dominance ( n=6), and ponticulus posticus ( n=3). All the patients underwent preoperative planning using a 3D-printed model of the atlantoaxial complex with the vertebral artery, followed by posterior atlantoaxial pedicle screw fixation with computer-assisted navigation. Operative duration and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. The accuracy of pedicle screw placement was assessed at 3 days postoperatively using the Gertzbein-Robbins classification. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores were evaluated preoperatively, at 3 days, 3 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up. Bony fusion was assessed using cervical CT with 3D reconstruction at the last follow-up. Complications were also observed. Results:All the patients were followed up for 12-19 months [(15.1±1.9)months]. The operative duration was 125-167 minutes [(140.6±10.9)minutes] and intraoperative blood loss was 200-600 ml [(295.7±77.8)ml]. At 3 days postoperatively, all the 66 pedicle screws were safely placed, with 60 screws (91%) rated as Gertzbein-Robbins Grade 0 and 6 screws (9%) as Grade 1. At 3 days and 3 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up, the VAS scores were (4.0±1.0)points, (2.0±0.6)points, and (1.3±0.5)points, and the JOA scores were (14.2±1.2)points, (16.0±0.8)points, and (16.6±0.5)points, both of which were not only significantly improved compared with preoperative (5.6±1.3)points and (12.8±1.5)points, but also further improved over time ( P<0.05). At the last follow-up, 22 patients (96%) achieved satisfactory atlantoaxial bony fusion. No vertebral artery injury, spinal cord or nerve injury, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, or screw loosening were observed in any patients. Conclusion:For patients with AAI complicated by vertebral artery anomalies, 3D printing combined with computer navigation-assisted navigation for atlantoaxial pedicle screw implantation offers multiple advantages, including minimal surgical trauma, high screw placement accuracy, pain relief, neurological function improvement, high fusion rate, and lowered incidence of complications.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of 3D printing technology combined with computer navigation-assisted screw implantation in the treatment of atlantoaxial instability (AAI) complicated by vertebral artery anomalies.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 23 patients with AAI complicated by vertebral artery anomalies who were admitted to Honghui Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University between January 2019 and January 2023, including 10 males and 13 females, aged 19-70 years [(51.0±13.3)years]. Vertebral artery anomalies were categorized into unilateral high-riding vertebral artery with unilateral dominance ( n=14), bilateral high-riding vertebral arteries with unilateral dominance ( n=6), and ponticulus posticus ( n=3). All the patients underwent preoperative planning using a 3D-printed model of the atlantoaxial complex with the vertebral artery, followed by posterior atlantoaxial pedicle screw fixation with computer-assisted navigation. Operative duration and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. The accuracy of pedicle screw placement was assessed at 3 days postoperatively using the Gertzbein-Robbins classification. Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores were evaluated preoperatively, at 3 days, 3 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up. Bony fusion was assessed using cervical CT with 3D reconstruction at the last follow-up. Complications were also observed. Results:All the patients were followed up for 12-19 months [(15.1±1.9)months]. The operative duration was 125-167 minutes [(140.6±10.9)minutes] and intraoperative blood loss was 200-600 ml [(295.7±77.8)ml]. At 3 days postoperatively, all the 66 pedicle screws were safely placed, with 60 screws (91%) rated as Gertzbein-Robbins Grade 0 and 6 screws (9%) as Grade 1. At 3 days and 3 months postoperatively, and at the last follow-up, the VAS scores were (4.0±1.0)points, (2.0±0.6)points, and (1.3±0.5)points, and the JOA scores were (14.2±1.2)points, (16.0±0.8)points, and (16.6±0.5)points, both of which were not only significantly improved compared with preoperative (5.6±1.3)points and (12.8±1.5)points, but also further improved over time ( P<0.05). At the last follow-up, 22 patients (96%) achieved satisfactory atlantoaxial bony fusion. No vertebral artery injury, spinal cord or nerve injury, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, or screw loosening were observed in any patients. Conclusion:For patients with AAI complicated by vertebral artery anomalies, 3D printing combined with computer navigation-assisted navigation for atlantoaxial pedicle screw implantation offers multiple advantages, including minimal surgical trauma, high screw placement accuracy, pain relief, neurological function improvement, high fusion rate, and lowered incidence of complications.

Objective Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species(mtROS)could cause damage to pancreatic β-cells,rendering them susceptible to oxidative damage.Hence,investigating the potential of the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant(Mito-TEMPO)to protect pancreatic β-cells from ferroptosis by mitigating lipid peroxidation becomes crucial. Methods MIN6 cells were cultured in vitro with 100 μmol/L sodium palmitate(SP)to simulate diabetes.FerroOrange was utilized for the detection of Fe2+fluorescence staining,BODIPY581/591C11 for lipid reactive oxygen species,and MitoSox-Red for mtROS.Alterations in mitophagy levels were assessed through the co-localization of lysosomal and mitochondrial fluorescence.Western blotting was employed to quantify protein levels of Acsl4,GPX4,FSP1,FE,PINK1,Parkin,TOMM20,P62,and LC3.Subsequently,interventions were implemented using Mito-TEMPO and Carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone(CCCP)to observe changes in ferroptosis and mitophagy within MIN6 cells. Results We found that SP induced a dose-dependent increase in Fe2+and lipid ROS in MIN6 cells while decreasing the expression levels of GPX4 and FSP1 proteins.Through bioinformatics analysis,it has been uncovered that mitophagy assumes a crucial role within the ferroptosis pathway associated with diabetes.Additionally,SP decreased the expression of mitophagy-related proteins PINK1 and Parkin,leading to mtROS overproduction.Conversely,Mito-TEMPO effectively eliminated mtROS while activating the mitophagy pathways involving PINK1 and Parkin,thereby reducing the occurrence of ferroptosis in MIN6 cells.CCCP also demonstrated efficacy in reducing ferroptosis in MIN6 cells. Conclusion In summary,Mito-TEMPO proved effective in attenuating mtROS production and initiating mitophagy pathways mediated by PINK1 and Parkin in MIN6 cells.Consequently,this decreased iron overload and lipid peroxidation,ultimately safeguarding the cells from ferroptosis.

Background and purpose:Esophageal carcinoma(ESCA)is one of the malignant tumors with high mortality rate,and the underlying mechanism of its development is largely unknown.CDC20 plays an important role in tumorigenesis,and its dysregulated expression is closely related to tumor occurrence and development.The expression of CDC20 is increased in a variety of tumors,and knocking down CDC20 can inhibit tumor cell proliferation.NLRP3 is the main component of the inflammasome,and inflammasome is also closely related to tumor occurrence and development.Here,our study aimed to investigate whether CDC20 promotes the proliferation of ESCA cells through NLRP3 and its regulatory mechanism.Methods:The expression levels of CDC20 and NLRP3 genes in ESCA patients were analyzed using The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)detabase and GTEx public database.We collected clinical and pathological data and tissues from 80 ESCA patients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College,and detected the protein expression of NLRP3 in ESCA patients through immunohistochemistry staining.This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College(Number:EC-021-137).We studied the effects of knocking down CDC20 and NLRP3 gene on the proliferation ability of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells EC9706 and KYSE150 using short hairpin RNA(shRNA)technology.Co-immunoprecipitation(Co-IP),proteasome inhibitors and ubiquitination experiments were used to detect whether CDC20 interacts with NLRP3,and to elucidate whether CDC20 regulates NLRP3 expression through the ubiquitination pathway.This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical College(Number:EC-021-137).Results:The TCGA database analysis showed that the expression levels of CDC20 and NLRP3 mRNA were significantly higher in the cancer tissues of ESCA patients than in the adjacent tissues.The immunohistochemistry results further showed that compared with adjacent tissues,the protein expression levels of CDC20 and NLRP3 were increased in ESCA tissues.Knocking down CDC20 and NLRP3 genes inhibited the proliferation of ESCA cells.Co-IP,proteasome inhibitors and ubiquitination experiments confirmed that CDC20 interacted with NLRP3 through its leucine-rich repeat(LRR),and CDC20 stabilized its expression by promoting NLRP3 ubiquitination.Conclusion:CDC20 and NLRP3 are upregulated in ESCA tissues,and CDC20 stabilizes their expression through ubiquitination of NLRP3,promoting ESCA cell proliferation.This suggests that CDC20 and NLRP3 may be potential diagnostic targets for ESCA.

OBJECTIVES: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) mainly characterized by inflammation, ulceration and erosion of colonic mucosa and submucosa. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is an important mediator of visceral pain and inflammatory bowel disease. This study aims to investigate the protective effect of water soluble propolis (WSP) on UC colon inflammatory tissue and the role of TRPV1. METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n=8): a normal control (NC) group, an ulcerative colitis model (UC) group, a low-WSP (L-WSP) group, a medium-WSP (M-WSP) group, a high-WSP (H-WSP) group, and a salazosulfapyridine (SASP) group. The rats in the NC group drank water freely, and the other groups drank 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution freely for 7 d to replicate the ulcerative colitis model. Based on the successful replication of the UC, the L-WSP, M-WSP, and H-WSP groups were given 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of water-soluble propolis by gavage for 7 d, and the SASP group was given 100 mg/kg of sulfasalazine by gavage for 7 d. The body weight of rats in each group was measured at the same time every day, the fecal traits and occult blood were observed to record the disease activity index (DAI). After intragastric administration, the animals were sacrificed after fasted 24 h. Serum and colonic tissue were collected, and the changes of MDA, IL-6 and TNF-α were detected. The pathological changes of colon tissues were observed by HE staining, and the expression of TRPV1 in colon tissues was observed by Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: The animals in each group that drank DSS freely showed symptoms such as weight loss, decreased appetite, depressed state, and hematochezia, indicating that the model was successfully established. Compared with the NC group, DAI scores of other groups were increased (all P<0.05). MDA, IL-6, TNF-α in serum and colon tissues of the UC group were increased compared with the NC group (all P<0.01), and they were decreased after WSP and SASP treatment (all P<0.01). The results of showed that the colon tissue structure was obviously broken and inflammatory infiltration in the UC group, while the H-WSP group and the SASP group significantly improved the colon tissue and alleviated inflammatory infiltration. The expression of TRPV1 in colon tissues in the UC group was increased compared with the NC group (all P<0.01), and it was decreased after WSP and SASP treatment. CONCLUSIONS WSP can alleviate the inflammatory state of ulcerative colitis induced by DSS, which might be related to the inhibition of inflammatory factors release, and down-regulation or desensitization of TRPV1.
Animals ; Male ; Rats ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Colitis, Ulcerative/chemically induced* ; Colon/pathology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Interleukin-6/pharmacology* ; Propolis/therapeutic use* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sulfasalazine/therapeutic use* ; TRPV Cation Channels ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/pharmacology*

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Objective:To analyze clinical and imaging features of Sturge-Weber syndrome in children.Methods:Clinical data were collected from 27 children with Sturge-Weber syndrome in Xuzhou Children′s Hospital, Xuzhou Medical University from July 2013 to December 2019, and analyzed retrospectively.Results:Among the 27 children, 17 were males and 10 were females. Their age at the clinic visit ranged from 2 days to 10 years and 7 months, and averaged 2.54 years. All the 27 patients presented with facial port-wine stains of varied color from light red to purple red, which were all distributed across the facial midline, including 21 with predominantly unilateral port-wine stains and 6 with bilateral symmetrical port-wine stains. There were 17 patients with ocular choroidal vascular malformations, including 14 with congenital glaucoma, 5 with high intraocular pressure, and 1 with optic nerve atrophy accompanied by transient blindness. Neurological impairment occurred in 12 patients, and all manifested as epilepsy. All the 27 children underwent imaging examination, and abnormalities were found in 20. Among the 10 patients with abnormal computed tomography images, local calcification was observed in 8, and local thickening of the skull on the side affected by skin lesions in 8; 13 of 14 patients with abnormal magnetic resonance imaging scan results had signs of brain atrophy, 9 showed enhanced gyrus-like blood vessel formation by enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, and 5 showed decreased branches of the anterior and middle cerebral artery on the affected facial side by magnetic resonance angiography.Conclusions:Children with Sturge-Weber syndrome are clinically characterized by predominantly unilateral port wine stains on the face, some of whom are accompanied by epilepsy, glaucoma or mental retardation, and imaging examinations mainly show local calcification, brain atrophy, local thickening of the skull plate, enhanced gyrus-like blood vessel formation, etc. Early definite diagnosis and comprehensive systemic treatment are needed to reduce disability and mortality rates in patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome, and long-term follow-up should be considered.

Objective To evaluate the levels of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), parathyroid hormone(PTH)and osteocalcin,as well as bone mineral density(BMD),in aged men in Beijing, and the relationship among these factors.Methods A total of 668 elderly male patients who were treated at the Beijing Friendship Hospital were evaluated, and their medical data were collected. The serum concentrations of 25(OH)D,PTH,and osteocalcin were measured.Additionally,bone mineral density at the lumbar spine1- 4(L1- 4) and left femoral neck were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Participants were divided into 4 groups by age,3 groups according to BMD,and 4 groups according to serum 25(OH)D levels. The relationship among these factors was investigated. Results The mean serum concentrations of 25(OH)D and PTH were (40.2 ± 17.3) nmol/L and (45.19 ± 15.54) ng/L, respectively. The serum 25(OH)D levels in the group aged≥90 years[(27.1±16.8)nmol/L]was significantly lower compared to that in the other groups. Among different BMD groups, serum 25(OH)D levels reduced gradually, but differences were not significant(P>0.05).Age and PTH levels were not significantly associated with 25(OH) D groups (P>0.05). However, BMD of the femoral neck in the groups with severe [(0.782±0.121)g/m2] and mild[(0.775±0.247)g/m2]vitamin D deficiency were significantly lower than that in the group with normal vitamin D levels [(0.837 ± 0.192) g/m2] (P<0.05). With the increase in vitamin D levels, osteocalcin levels decreased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among aged men in Beijing and the 25(OH)D levels have some correlation with BMD and osteocalcin.

Objective DryLab software was used to assist high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to test and isolate six Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) probe substrates.Methods Six CYP450 probe substrates were selected and the right HPLC method was developed and validated with the assistance of DryLab software.Results The new HPLC method with the assistance of DryLab software could test and isolate six probe substrates with degrees of isolation more than 2.00. The correlation coefficients (R> 0.999 8) indicated high linear correlation between the concentrations and the peak areas among six probe substrates. Recovery studies showed good results for all the probe substrat from 86.38% to 110.29%. And therelative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 1.69% to 3.80% with its intra-day and inter-day precision ranging from 0.42% to 2.01%, and 1.36% to 2.29%, respectively.Conclusions The developed HPLC method with the assistance of DryLab could test and isolate six probe substrates with shortertime than the HPLC method alone.