BACKGROUND: The primary limitation to kidney transplantation is organ shortage. Recent progress in gene editing and immunosuppressive regimens has made xenotransplantation with porcine organs a possibility. However, evidence in pig-to-human xenotransplantation remains scarce, and antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is a major obstacle to clinical applications of xenotransplantation. METHODS: We conducted a kidney xenotransplantation in a brain-dead human recipient using a porcine kidney with five gene edits (5GE) on March 25, 2024 at Xijing Hospital, China. Clinical-grade immunosuppressive regimens were employed, and the observation period lasted 22 days. We collected and analyzed the xenograft function, ultrasound findings, sequential protocol biopsies, and immune surveillance of the recipient during the observation. RESULTS: The combination of 5GE in the porcine kidney and clinical-grade immunosuppressive regimens prevented hyperacute rejection. The xenograft kidney underwent delayed graft function in the first week, but urine output increased later and the single xenograft kidney maintained electrolyte and pH homeostasis from postoperative day (POD) 12 to 19. We observed AMR at 24 h post-transplantation, due to the presence of pre-existing anti-porcine antibodies and cytotoxicity before transplantation; this AMR persisted throughout the observation period. Plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin treatment mitigated the AMR. We observed activation of latent porcine cytomegalovirus toward the end of the study, which might have contributed to coagulation disorder in the recipient. CONCLUSIONS 5GE and clinical-grade immunosuppressive regimens were sufficient to prevent hyperacute rejection during pig-to-human kidney xenotransplantation. Pre-existing anti-porcine antibodies predisposed the xenograft to AMR. Plasma exchange and intravenous immunoglobulin were safe and effective in the treatment of AMR after kidney xenotransplantation.
Transplantation, Heterologous/methods* ; Kidney Transplantation/methods* ; Heterografts/pathology* ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/administration & dosage* ; Graft Survival/immunology* ; Humans ; Animals ; Sus scrofa ; Graft Rejection/prevention & control* ; Kidney/pathology* ; Gene Editing ; Species Specificity ; Immunosuppression Therapy/methods* ; Plasma Exchange ; Brain Death ; Biopsy ; Male ; Aged

The patient, assigned female at birth and aged 1 year and 7 months, presented with clinical manifestations of 46,XY disorders of sex development. The external genitalia exhibited a severely undermasculinized phenotype. Laboratory tests and gonadal biopsy indicated poor Leydig cell function and good Sertoli cell function. Genetic testing revealed compound heterozygous mutations of c.867-2A>C and c.547G>A (p.G183R) in the LHCGR gene. The patient was ultimately diagnosed with type II Leydig cell hypoplasia. Type II Leydig cell hypoplasia presents a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes, characterized by a lack of parallel function between Leydig cells and Sertoli cells, and significant individual variability in spermatogenesis and gender assignment. This condition should be considered when there is poor Leydig cell function but good development of Wolffian duct derivatives.
Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Disorder of Sex Development, 46,XY/genetics* ; Leydig Cells/pathology* ; Mutation ; Receptors, LH/genetics* ; Testis/abnormalities*

The patient was a boy aged 1 year and 9 months who presented with 46,XY disorder of sex development (DSD), with severe undermasculinization of the external genitalia. Laboratory tests and ultrasound examinations showed normal functions of Leydig cells and Sertoli cells in the testes. Genetic testing revealed a novel pathogenic heterozygous variant, c.1186dupA (p.T396Nfs*17), in the PPP1R12A gene. Thirteen cases of PPP1R12A gene variants have been reported previously. These variants may cause isolated involvement of the genitourinary or neurological systems, or affect other systems/organs including the digestive tract, eyes, heart, etc. Patients with DSD typically present with a 46,XY karyotype and variable degrees of undermasculinization involving the external genitalia, gonads, and reproductive tract. This article reports a child with 46,XY DSD accompanied by growth retardation caused by a heterozygous variant in the PPP1R12A gene, which expands the clinical disease spectrum associated with PPP1R12A gene variants.
Humans ; Male ; Infant ; Disorder of Sex Development, 46,XY/etiology* ; Protein Phosphatase 1/genetics*

Anxiety disorder is a major symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with a comorbidity rate of ~40%. However, the neural mechanisms of the emergence of anxiety in ASD remain unclear. In our study, we found that hyperactivity of basolateral amygdala (BLA) pyramidal neurons (PNs) in Shank3 InsG3680 knock-in (InsG3680^+/+) mice is involved in the development of anxiety. Electrophysiological results also showed increased excitatory input and decreased inhibitory input in BLA PNs. Chemogenetic inhibition of the excitability of PNs in the BLA rescued the anxiety phenotype of InsG3680^+/+ mice. Further study found that the diminished control of the BLA by medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and optogenetic activation of the mPFC-BLA pathway also had a rescue effect, which increased the feedforward inhibition of the BLA. Taken together, our results suggest that hyperactivity of the BLA and alteration of the mPFC-BLA circuitry are involved in anxiety in InsG3680^+/+ mice.
Animals ; Prefrontal Cortex/metabolism* ; Basolateral Nuclear Complex/metabolism* ; Mice ; Anxiety/metabolism* ; Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics* ; Male ; Gene Knock-In Techniques ; Pyramidal Cells/physiology* ; Mice, Transgenic ; Neural Pathways/physiopathology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microfilament Proteins

Intentional tooth replantation (ITR) is an advanced treatment modality and the procedure of last resort for preserving teeth with inaccessible endodontic or resorptive lesions. ITR is defined as the deliberate extraction of a tooth; evaluation of the root surface, endodontic manipulation, and repair; and placement of the tooth back into its original socket. Case reports, case series, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of ITR in the retention of natural teeth that are untreatable or difficult to manage with root canal treatment or endodontic microsurgery. However, variations in clinical protocols for ITR exist due to the empirical nature of the original protocols and rapid advancements in the field of oral biology and dental materials. This heterogeneity in protocols may cause confusion among dental practitioners; therefore, guidelines and considerations for ITR should be explicated. This expert consensus discusses the biological foundation of ITR, the available clinical protocols and current status of ITR in treating teeth with refractory apical periodontitis or anatomical aberration, and the main complications of this treatment, aiming to refine the clinical management of ITR in accordance with the progress of basic research and clinical studies; the findings suggest that ITR may become a more consistent evidence-based option in dental treatment.
Humans ; Tooth Replantation/methods* ; Consensus ; Periapical Periodontitis/surgery*

Objective:To explore expression patterns of transcription factor TFAP2B in epidermal melanocytes of healthy individuals and vitiligo patients.Methods:Lesional tissues were collected from 5 patients confirmedly diagnosed with progressive vitiligo at the Department of Dermatology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University from January 2020 to December 2022. At the same time, some discarded normal skin tissues were obtained from 5 gender- and age-matched healthy individuals after plastic surgeries. The immortalized healthy human epidermal melanocyte cell line PIG1, the vitiligo epidermal melanocyte cell line PIG3V, and primary human epidermal melanocytes, which were isolated from the discarded foreskin tissues of 3 healthy males after urological surgeries in Xijing Hospital, were cultured in vitro. Tissue immunofluorescence assay was performed to determine the expression and localization of TFAP2B and dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) in healthy skin tissues and vitiligo lesions, and cell immunofluorescence assay and Western blot analysis were conducted to determine the TFAP2B expression in human epidermal melanocytes. Comparisons between two groups were performed using t test, and correlation analysis was performed using Pearson correlation coefficients. Results:Tissue immunofluorescence assay showed that TFAP2B was specifically expressed in human epidermal melanocytes and localized in the nuclei. Western blot analysis showed that TFAP2B was strongly expressed in the human epidermal melanocyte cell line PIG1 and primary melanocytes, with the relative expression levels being 0.45 ± 0.05 and 0.36 ± 0.04, respectively. Tissue immunofluorescence analysis showed that the fluorescence intensity of TFAP2B (623 917.5 ± 88 784.0) was significantly and positively correlated with that of DCT (2 232 655.3 ± 588 810.4; r = 0.91, P < 0.001) in human epidermal tissues from 5 healthy controls and 5 vitiligo patients. In addition, the relative fluorescence intensity of TFAP2B in epidermal melanocytes was significantly lower in the vitiligo lesions (0.12 ± 0.05) than in the healthy skin tissues (1, t = 19.35, P < 0.001). Western blot analysis showed that the relative expression level of TFAP2B was also significantly lower in the PIG3V cells (0.62 ± 0.09) than in the PIG1 cells (1, t = 5.92, P < 0.027) . Conclusions:TFAP2B was specifically and highly expressed in human epidermal melanocytes, and its expression level was significantly and positively correlated with that of the melanocyte marker DCT. Additionally, TFAP2B was obviously lowly expressed in the epidermal melanocytes of patients with vitiligo.

Objective: To analyze and assess the current status of high blood pressure and associated factors among primary and secondary school students in Xinjiang in 2023, so as to provide a scientific basis for prevention and control decision making of high blood pressure among students. Methods: From September to November 2023, a total of 94 205 primary and secondary school students aged 8-17 from 14 prefectures and cities in Xinjiang, were selected for physical measurement and questionnaire survey using a stratified clustering random sampling method. The χ 2 test was employed to compare differences in high blood pressure rates among students with varying characteristics. Additionally, a Logistic regression model was developed to analyze associated factors with high blood pressure among primary and secondary school students. Results: The overall high blood pressure rate among primary and secondary school students in Xinjiang was 8.18%, with simple systolic hypertension being the main type at 52.16%. By educational stages, high blood pressure rates for elementary school (grades 4-6), middle school, high school and vocational high school were 8.04%, 8.59%, 7.65%, and 9.72% respectively ( χ 2=29.16, P <0.01). The high blood pressure rates among obese and overweight students were 9.93% and 17.88% respectively, significantly higher than 5.32% among normal weight students ( χ 2=1 643.14, P < 0.01 ). The high blood pressure rate among urban students (8.73%) was higher than that of rural students (7.15%) ( χ 2=71.58, P <0.01). Logistic regression model analysis showed increased high blood pressure risk for girls than boys ( OR = 1.06 ); middle school, high school, and vocational high school students had increased high blood pressure risk compared to elementary school students ( OR =1.22, 1.16, 1.70); rural students had lower high blood pressure risk than urban students ( OR =0.90); the risk of high blood pressure in overweight and obese groups was higher than that in the normal group ( OR =1.54, 3.00), and the risk of high blood pressure in boarding students was lower than that in non boarding students ( OR =0.71)( P <0.01). Conclusions In Xinjiang in 2023, primary and secondary school students have a certain rate of high blood pressure, mainly characterized by elevated systblood pressure lower. The main prevention and control targets are females, urban residents, those in higher academic stages, non boarding students, as well as overweight and obese primary and secondary school students.

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of recombinant human anti-severe acute respiratory syn-drome coronavirus 2(anti-SARS-CoV-2)monoclonal antibody injection(F61 injection)in the treatment of patients with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)combined with renal damage.Methods Patients with COVID-19 and renal damage who visited the PLA General Hospital from January to February 2023 were selected.Subjects were randomly divided into two groups.Control group was treated with conventional anti-COVID-19 therapy,while trial group was treated with conventional anti-COVID-19 therapy combined with F61 injection.A 15-day follow-up was conducted after drug administration.Clinical symptoms,laboratory tests,electrocardiogram,and chest CT of pa-tients were performed to analyze the efficacy and safety of F61 injection.Results Twelve subjects(7 in trial group and 5 in control group)were included in study.Neither group had any clinical progression or death cases.The ave-rage time for negative conversion of nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 in control group and trial group were 3.2 days and 1.57 days(P=0.046),respectively.The scores of COVID-19 related target symptom in the trial group on the 3rd and 5th day after medication were both lower than those of the control group(both P＜0.05).According to the clinical staging and World Health Organization 10-point graded disease progression scale,both groups of subjects improved but didn't show statistical differences(P＞0.05).For safety,trial group didn't present any infusion-re-lated adverse event.Subjects in both groups demonstrated varying degrees of elevated blood glucose,elevated urine glucose,elevated urobilinogen,positive urine casts,and cardiac arrhythmia,but the differences were not statistica-lly significant(all P＞0.05).Conclusion F61 injection has initially demonstrated safety and clinical benefit in trea-ting patients with COVID-19 combined with renal damage.As the domestically produced drug,it has good clinical accessibility and may provide more options for clinical practice.

Objective:To analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) in boys.Methods:Cross-sectional study.Clinical data, laboratory data and genetic results of boys who were genetically diagnosed with CHH at the Department of Endocrinology of Shenzhen Children′s Hospital from December 2019 to February 2023 were collected in this retrospective study.Their clinical manifestations, hormone levels and gene mutations were analyzed.The non-normal distribution was represented by the median.The rank sum test was used to compare the non-normal distribution data between the two groups.Results:A total of 27 boys were genetically diagnosed with CHH, with the age at first diagnosis ranging from 0.3 to 16.6 years old.All these children presented with micropenis (100%), of whom 16 were complicated with cryptorchidism (59.3%), 9 with microrchidia (33.3%), 7 with simple micropenis (25.9%), and no had simple cryptorchidism.Three children had cardiovascular dysplasia.The median of basal luteinizing hormone(LH) level was 0.09 IU/L, and 92.5%(25/27) of children had the basal LH level below 1.00 IU/L.The median of peak LH level after gonadotropin-releasing hormone(GnRH) stimulation was 1.42 IU/L, and 96.2%(26/27) of children had the peak LH level below 4.00 IU/L.The median of serum inhibin B was 41.15 μg/L, and the median of serum anti-Müllerian hormone(AMH) was 12.62 mg/L.The serum AMH level of children with cryptorchidism was significantly lower than that of children without cryptorchidism (10.02 mg/L vs.50.50 mg/L, P<0.05). A total of 12 gene mutations were detected in the 27 children, of which 1 was biallelic mutation.The most common gene mutations were in CHD7 and ANOS1 genes (7 children each, both accounting for 51.8%), followed by FGFR1 gene (3 children, 11.1%). After short-term treatment by GnRH pump or subcutaneous injection of recombinant human follicle stimulating hormone in 4 children, the levels of serum inhibin B and AMH increased significantly, and the testicular volume also increased. Conclusions:CHH is a congenital disease with different clinical manifestations at different ages.The main manifestations in childhood are micropenis and cryptorchidism, and some children have microrchidia.Its diagnosis in prepuberty is difficult, but genetic testing is of great significance for early diagnosis.

ObjectiveAlthough expression of the TEAD1 protein in preadipocytes has been established, its function remains unclear. In this study, we sought to detect transcripts of TEAD1 in chicken and to examine the effects of this protein on the proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and differentiation of immortalized chicken preadipocyte cell lines (ICP1). MethodsThe full-length sequence of the TEAD1 gene was cloned and the two transcripts were subjected to bioinformatics analysis. The subcellsular localization of TEAD1 transcripts was determined based on indirect immunofluorescence. The effects of TEAD1 transcripts overexpression on the proliferation of ICP1 cells were examined by RT-qPCR, CCK-8, and EdU assays; the effects of TEAD1 transcripts on ICP1 cells migration were examined based on the scratch test; and the effects of TEAD1 transcripts overexpression on ICP1 cells apoptosis were analyzed using apoptosis-Hoechst staining and RT-qPCR. The expression of TEAD1 transcripts in different tissues, cells lines, and ICP1 at different periods of differentiation was analyzed by RT-qPCR. The effects of TEAD1 transcripts overexpression on lipid droplet accumulation and adipogenic-related gene expression in ICP1 cells were analyzed based on Oil Red O and BODIPY staining, RT-qPCR, Western blot, and dual-luciferase reporter gene assays. Finally, the content of triglyceride (TG) was measured in TEAD1 overexpressed ICP1 cells. ResultsThe full-length TEAD1 was cloned and two TEAD1 transcripts were identified. The TEAD1-V1 protein was found to be localized primarily in the cell nucleus, whereas the TEAD1-V2 protein is localized in the cell cytoplasm and nucleus. The overexpression of both TEAD1-V1 and TEAD1-V2 significantly inhibited the proliferation of ICP1 cells. Whereas the overexpression of TEAD1-V1 promoted ICP1 cell migration, the overexpression of TEAD1-V2 had no significant effects on ICP1 migration; the overexpression of both TEAD1-V1 and TEAD1-V2 significantly promoted the apoptosis of ICP1 cells. We found that the different transcripts of TEAD1 have similar expression pattern in different tissues and cells lines. During induced preadipocyte differentiation, the expression of these genes initially declined, although subsequently increased. Overexpression of TEAD1-V1 promoted a significant reduction in lipid droplet formation and inhibited C/EBPα expression during the differentiation of ICP1 cells (P<0.05). However, the overexpression of TEAD1-V2 had no significant effect on lipid droplet accumulation or the expression of adipogenic-related proteins (P>0.05). Overexpression of TEAD1-V1 significantly decreased triglyceride content in ICP1 cells (P<0.05), while overexpression of TEAD1-V2 had no effect on triglyceride content in ICP1 cells (P>0.05). ConclusionIn this study, for the first time, identified two TEAD1 transcripts. Overexpressed transcripts TEAD1-V1 and TEAD1-V2 both inhibited the proliferation of chicken preadipocytes and promoted apoptosis of chicken preadipocytes. TEAD1-V1 inhibited the differentiation of preadipocytes and promoted the migration of preadipocytes, while TEAD1-V2 had no effect on the differentiation and migration of preadipocytes.