Humans ; Encephalitis

Objective:To explore the genetic etiology of fetuses with high suspicion of congenital skeletal malformation detected by prenatal ultrasound.Methods:This retrospective study collected 21 pregnant women with highly suspected fetal skeletal malformation indicated by ultrasound (the couples had no skeletal malformation) at Institute of Medical Genetics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2019 to August 2020. Amniotic fluid/umbilical cord blood of the fetus and peripheral blood of the couples were obtained for karyotype analysis, chromosomal microarray analysis, and whole-exome sequencing. Sanger sequencing was performed for the "pathogenic" "suspected pathogenic" "variants of uncertain significance" variants detected by whole exome sequencing. Genetic etiology of the 21 fetuses was described.Results:A total of five chromosomal abnormalities were detected, including four cases of trisomy 21 and one trisomy 18. Chromosome microarray analysis detected one case of abnormal copy number variation, 16 p11.2 microdeletion syndrome. Ten cases of monogenic diseases were found by whole exome sequencing and eight genes were involved ( SGMS2, FGFR3, DYNC2H1, WDR35, TBX5, COL2A1, FGFR2, and ALPL). Totally, 14 variations were detected, among which seven were novel variations (c.8129T>A, c.7126G>A, c.10307_10320del, and c.2641G>T in DYNC2H1 gene; c.3085G>A and c.491G>A in WDR35 gene; c.1070G>T in COL2A1 gene). Conclusions:For fetus, whose parents have no skeletal malformation, highly suspected of congenital malformation of skeletal system by prenatal ultrasound, genetic factor is the primary reason, including chromosomal abnormalities, copy number variations, and monogenic mutations.

Actin-binding proteins (ABPs) are important components of the F-actin cytoskeleton and affect the dynamics of F-actin by promoting the polymerization and depolymerization of actin. Numerous studies have shown that F-actin and actin-binding proteins are involved in all stages of carcinogenesis. Our analysis of esophageal carcinoma proteomic data showed that the actin-binding protein EHD2 (E p s l 5 homology domain-containing protein 2) is expressed at low levels in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and patients with lower EHD2 expression had poorer prognosis. Previous studies have revealed that EHD2 is involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism, autophagy and tumor cell migration. However, the role and mechanism of EHD2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the effect of EHD2 on the proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Immunofluorescence and cell fractionation analysis showed that EHD2 was not only localized in the cell membrane and cytoplasm, but also in the nucleus. Colony formation, EdU labeling and flow cytometry were used to determine the effect of EHD2 on the proliferation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The results showed that overexpression of EHD2 and EHD2-3×NLS (nuclear localization signal) inhibited proliferation, cell cycle G

This study aims to explore the efficacy of Chinese medicine injections( CMIs) for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis for acute cerebral infarction from the perspectives of clinical medication and mechanism of action based on two complex network analysis methods. Firstly,the current 13 kinds of CMIs for acute cerebral infarction were obtained from 2019 List of medicines for national basic medical insurance,industrial injury insurance and maternity insurance with the method of network Meta-analysis. Secondly,with the use of network pharmacology,the mechanisms of top 2 CMIs with the highest therapeutic effect for acute cerebral infarction were explored from two levels including core target and network function enrichment. The result of network Meta-analysis showed Mailuoning Injection was superior to Danhong Injection in terms of total effectiveness rate for neurological deficit score and NIHSS score. The network pharmacology results showed that Mailuoning Injection had more core targets,interaction networks,enriched biological functions and more signaling pathways than Danhong Injection for cerebral infarction. Both two CMIs can play a role in treating cerebral infarction through core targets such as TP53 and NOS3,biological processes such as fibrinolysis,nitric oxide biosynthesis,nitric oxide-mediated signal transduction,negative regulation of apoptosis in endothelial cells and apoptosis process,as well as the signaling pathways such as PI3 K-Akt signaling pathway,HIF-1 signaling pathway and cell apoptosis signaling pathways. The results of pharmacological studies explained their differences in clinical efficacy to a certain extent. A research strategy based on curative effect should be advocated in efficacy evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine,where comparative research on clinical efficacy can be conducted firstly,and then mechanism research based on outstanding effective drugs to better provide references and basis for selection of similar competitive drugs for one disease in the clinical practice.
Cerebral Infarction/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Endothelial Cells ; Female ; Humans ; Injections ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Pregnancy ; Signal Transduction

The molecular identification of Fritillaria taibaiensis and its relatives was studied by real-time PCR with a TaqMan-MGB probe. DNA was extracted from F. taibaiensis and its relatives. According to the sequence of ITS1 region, the mutation sites of F. taipaiensis and its related species were identified by MEGA7.0 software. The specific primers (a pair) and a TaqMan-MGB probe were designed by Primer Premier 6.0 software. In the Roche LightCycler 96 system, the lowest limit of detection for F. taipaiensis DNA template was 0.002 39 ng·μL^-1, and the optimal T_m value range was 60 and 61 ℃. Specificity identification showed that the method had good specificity for F. taipaiensis, as it could be distinguished from other 13 different Fritillaria species including F. unibracteata. Since this method could accurately identify F. taipaiensis and its related species, it provides technical support for rational development of F. taipaiensis resources, management of Chinese medicinal market and supervision of raw materials in Chinese medicine manufacturing enterprises.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis for a child with supravalvular aortic stenosis. METHODS: The child and his parents were subjected to conventional G-banding karyotyping, array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis. RESULTS: No karyotypic abnormality was detected in the child and his parents. aCGH has identified a de novo 278 kb deletion encompassing the ELN gene in 7q11.23, which overlapped with the critical region of Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS). MLPA has confirmed above findings. CONCLUSION The proband was diagnosed with atypical WBS. Deletion of the ELN gene may predispose to supravalvular aortic stenosis in the proband.
Aortic Stenosis, Supravalvular ; genetics ; Child ; Chromosome Banding ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7 ; genetics ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization ; Gene Deletion ; Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Williams Syndrome ; complications ; genetics

Based on the ITS2 and psbA-trnHsequences, molecular biological identification and genetic relationship of Fritillaria cirrhosa with its relative species were carried out. In this paper, the PCR-RFLP method specified by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia was performed on all samples at first. Secondly, the ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences of all samples were amplified. Then, the amplified products were used to analyze the genetic distance, construct the phylogenetic tree, assess the identification efficiency, and evaluate the genetic relationship as well. The result showed that all the samples were divided into two groups by PCR-RFLP method. The samples in the first group, including Fritillaria ussuriensis, Fritillaria thunbergii and Fritillaria pallidiflora, could not be digested by SmaI, while the other samples in the second group, including Fritillaria mellea, Fritillaria sinica, Fritillaria cirrhosa var. ecirrhosa Franch, Fritillaria unibracteata var. longinectarea and Fritillaria cirrhosa, could be digested by SmaI. Then, ITS2 and psbA-trnH sequences of all samples were obtained. The length of various ITS2 sequences were distributed from 235 to 239 bp, and the average intra- and inter-specific genetic distance were 0.001 and 0.022, respectively. NJ tree showed that all samples were separated into "Northern Fritillaria" group (Fritillaria ussuriensis and Fritillaria pallidiflora) and "Southern Fritillaria" group (Fritillaria thunbergii, Fritillaria mellea, Fritillaria sinica, Fritillaria cirrhosa var. ecirrhosa Franch, Fritillaria unibracteata var. longinectarea and Fritillaria cirrhosa). The latter group could be further divided into Fritillaria thunbergii and Fritillaria cirrhosa subgroup, and the species in Fritillaria cirrhosa subgroup had close phylogenetic relationships. The length of psbA-trnH sequences was distributed from 337 to 373 bp, and the intra- and inter-specific genetic distance were 0.263 and 0.329, respectively. The samples in this paper could not be clustered effectively by NJ tree. This indicated that the ITS2 sequences were not only able to identify Fritillaria cirrhosa with its partial relative species quickly and accurately, but also clarify the relationship between different Fritillaria species. Therefore, it provided an important theoretical foundation for the development of molecular markers, effective protection, and rational development and utilization of Fritillaria resources.

The chemical constituents from the ethanol extract of Clerodendrum japonicum were isolated by a combination of various chromatographic techniques including column chromatography over silica gel, sephadex LH-20, ODS and reversed phase HPLC. Sixteen compounds with a pair of epimers were elucidated through the application of physicochemical properties with modern spectral analysis technology as 7α-hydroxy syringaresinol (1), (-)-syringaresinol (2), (-)-medioresinol (3), 2″,3″--acetylmartyonside (4), 2″--acetyl-martyonside (5), martinoside (6), monoacetyl martinoside (7)，cytochalasin O (8), 9-epi-blumenol B (9), (6R, 9S) and (6R,9)-9-hydroxy-4-megastigmen-3-one (10a，10b), (6R,9S)-3-oxo-α-ionol (11), (-)-dehydrovomifoliol (12)，megastigm-5-en-3,9-diol (13), (3R,6E,10S)-2,6,10-trimethyl-3-hydroxydodeca-6,11-diene-2,10-diol (14), (2)-butylitaconic acid (15), 3-(3&-hydroxybutyl)-2,4,4-trimethylcyclohexa-2,5-dienone (16), (-)-loliolide (17), of which compound 1 and 15 are new natural product, the other compounds were isolated for the first time from Clerodendrum japonicum except for compounds 4, 6 and 7.

Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a serious adverse drug reaction, characterized with rash, fever, lymphadenectasis, eosinophilia and visceral involvement. This article describes the clinical case of a patient with renal insufficiency after receiving sensitizing drugs,which resulted in limb weakness and cognitive impairment of center nervous system characterized by vasculitis imaging and responded well to glucocorticoid treatment-DRESS syndrome.

ObjectiveTo compare the level of testosterone between type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and healthy controls and to investigate the status of hypogonadism and the influence of hypopgonadism on the quality of life.

METHODSWe collected serum total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and other clinical data from 166 T2DM patients aged over 30 years and 186 age-matched healthy controls. We investigated the quality of life (QoL) of the two groups of subjects using the questionnaires of Androgen Deficiency in Aging Males (ADAM), Aging Male Symptoms (AMS), 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Special Quality of Life for Diabetes Mellitus (DSQL).

RESULTSThe level of calculated FT (cFT) was remarkably lower in the T2DM patients than in the healthy controls (P<0.05), but no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in the levels of TT, bio-available testosterone (Bio-T), and SHBG. The T2DM males with hypogonadism showed significant differences from those without in age, height, systolic blood pressure, and creatinine (P<0.05). Based on the criteria of cFT <0.3 nmol/L and AMS score ≥27, the incidence rate of hypogonadism was 51.81% in the T2DM patients, 31.58% in the 30－39 yr group, 32.50% in the 40－49 yr group, 50% in the 50－59 yr group, 69.23% in the 60－69 yr group, and 77.27% in the ≥70 yr group, elevated by 77.4% with the increase of 10 years of age (OR = 1.774, P<0.001). The AMS score was significantly correlated with the scores of DSQL (r = 0.557, P<0.001) and SF-36 (r = －0.739, P<0.001) in the T2DM patients.

CONCLUSIONST2DM patients have lower levels of cFT than healthy men, accompanied with a higher incidence of hypogonadism. Age is a main risk factor of hypogonadism. Severer testosterone deficiency symptoms are associated with lower scores of QoL in T2DM males.