Gut microbiome is integral to the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. A novel probiotic Lactobacillus intestinalis (L. intestinalis) exerts a protective effect against dextran sodium sulfate‐induced ...colitis in mice. Based on flow cytometry, colitis‐associated Th17 cells are the target of L. intestinalis, which is supported by the lack of protective effects of L. intestinalis in T cell‐null Rag1−/− mice or upon anti‐IL‐17‐A antibody‐treated mice. Although L. intestinalis exerts no direct effect on T cell differentiation, it decreases C/EBPA‐driven gut epithelial SAA1 and SAA2 production, which in turn impairs Th17 cell differentiation. Cometabolism of L. intestinalis ALDH and host ALDH1A2 contributed to elevated biosynthesis of retinoic acid (RA), which accounts for the anti‐colitis effect in RAR‐α ‐mediated way. In a cohort of ulcerative colitis patients, it is observed that fecal abundance of L. intestinalis is negatively associated with the C/EBPA‐SAA1/2‐Th17 axis. Finally, L. intestinalis has a synergistic effect with mesalazine in alleviating murine colitis. In conclusion, L. intestinalis and associated metabolites, RA, have potential therapeutic effects for suppressing colonic inflammation by modulating the crosstalk between intestinal epithelia and immunity.
By improving retinoic acid synthesis, a novel probiotic L. intestinalis exerts a protective effect against colitis. Retinoic acid triggers epithelial gene alteration, including SAA1, SAA2, and C/EBPA, to downregulate RORγt+ Th17 cells. L. intestinalis and its associated metabolite, retinoic acid, have potential therapeutic effects for suppressing colonic inflammation.
Objective
Inflammation can cause delirium. Soluble fibrinogen‐like protein 2 (sFGL2) is a modulator of the immune response and more recently found to be a biomarker for brain injury. This study was ...designed to discover the predictive capability of serum sFGL2 concentrations for delirium after acute pancreatitis (AP).
Materials and Methods
In this prospective, observational study, serum sFGL2 concentrations were quantified in 184 healthy controls and in 184 AP patients. Disease severity was assessed by Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Care Evaluation II score, Ranson score, multiple organ dysfunction score, and sequential organ failure assessment score. Delirium was recorded during hospital stay. Predictors of delirium were identified using multivariate analysis.
Results
Serum sFGL2 concentrations were substantially higher in AP patients than in controls. Serum sFGL2 concentrations were intimately correlated with the preceding severity parameters. Serum sFGL2 and the aforementioned severity parameters were independent predictors for delirium. Under receiver operating characteristic curve, the discriminatory ability of serum sFGL2 was equivalent to those of the above‐mentioned severity parameters. Moreover, serum sFGL2 dramatically improved the predictive value of the aforementioned severity parameters.
Conclusions
Elevation of serum sFGL2 concentrations is strongly associated with the AP severity and has the potential to distinguish delirium after AP.
Serum sFGL2 levels are raised after acute pancreatitis. Serum sFGL2 is independently associated with delirium.Serum sFGL2 shows a strong predictive ability for delirium.
Paclitaxel is recommended as a first-line chemotherapeutic agent against ovarian cancer, but drug resistance becomes a major limitation of its success clinically. The key molecule or mechanism ...associated with paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer still remains unclear. Here, we showed that TXNDC17 screened from 356 differentially expressed proteins by LC-MS/MS label-free quantitative proteomics was more highly expressed in paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cells and tissues, and the high expression of TXNDC17 was associated with poorer prognostic factors and exhibited shortened survival in 157 ovarian cancer patients. Moreover, paclitaxel exposure induced upregulation of TXNDC17 and BECN1 expression, increase of autophagosome formation, and autophagic flux that conferred cytoprotection for ovarian cancer cells from paclitaxel. TXNDC17 inhibition by siRNA or enforced overexpression by a pcDNA3.1(+)-TXNDC17 plasmid correspondingly decreased or increased the autophagy response and paclitaxel resistance. Additionally, the downregulation of BECN1 by siRNA attenuated the activation of autophagy and cytoprotection from paclitaxel induced by TXNDC17 overexpression in ovarian cancer cells. Thus, our findings suggest that TXNDC17, through participation of BECN1, induces autophagy and consequently results in paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer. TXNDC17 may be a potential predictor or target in ovarian cancer therapeutics.
Paclitaxel is widely used as a first-line chemotherapeutic drug for patients with ovarian cancer and other solid cancers, but drug resistance occurs frequently, resulting in ovarian cancer still ...presenting as the highest lethality among all gynecological tumors. Here, using DIGE quantitative proteomics, we identified UBC13 as down-regulated in paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cells, and it was further revealed by immunohistochemical staining that UBC13 low-expression was associated with poorer prognosis and shorter survival of the patients. Through gene function experiments, we found that paclitaxel exposure induced UBC13 down-regulation, and the enforced change in UBC13 expression altered the sensitivity to paclitaxel. Meanwhile, the reduction of UBC13 increased DNMT1 levels by attenuating its ubiquitination, and the up-regulated DNMT1 enhanced the CHFR promoter DNA methylation levels, leading to a reduction of CHFR expression, and an increased in the levels of Aurora A. Our findings revealed a novel function for UBC13 in regulating paclitaxel sensitivity through a DNMT1-CHFR-Aurora A pathway in ovarian cancer cells. UBC13 could potentially be employed as a therapeutic molecular drug for reversing paclitaxel resistance in ovarian cancer patients.
To evaluate the feasibility and safety of a minilaparotomy approach for curative resection of colorectal cancer in comparison with the conventional laparotomy.
Seventy-eight patients underwent ...radical resection for rectal cancer with minilaparotomy during April 2001 to December 2002. The minilaparotomy involved complete resection and a skin incision 2 cm above the link line of left anterior superior iliac spine to pubic symphysis and was about 7-10 cm in length. Another 86 patients who served as control group underwent a similar resection with a conventional laparotomy during the same period.
The minilaparotomy approach was successful in all 78 patients. The general status of patients, operative types and histopathological features of tumor were similar in the two groups (P>0.05). Operative blood loss in control group was greater (P<0.001), whereas incision length in minilaparotomy group was significantly shorter than that in conventional laparotomy (9.38 cm compared with 17.32 cm). The operative time, analge
To evaluate the prognosis of the total proctocolectomy and ileal-pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) for ulcerative colitis (UC) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP).
Sixty-one patients with ulcer ...colitis or familial adenomatous polyposis were performed total proctocolectomy and ileal pouches-anal anastomosis during 1985 to 2002. There are S type pouch 25 cases, S-J type pouch 13 cases, J type pouch 17 cases and W type pouch 6 cases. The complication and function after the IPAA were also discussed.
No patient died after operation. The total morbidity is 16% (10/61), the morbidity of group UC (6/25) is higher than FAP's (4/34). The W type pouch's morbidity is higher than other three types', the operation with stapled technique is associated with fewer complication than hand-sewn IPAA (2/20 vs 8/41), however, there is also no significant difference between them. The number of stools per 24 hours is 4.2, the percent of the normal continence of daytime and nighttime is 84% (43/51) and 75% (38/51) respectively. Ther
To investigate the CpG island methylation and the mRNA expression of OPCML gene in patients with cervical carcinoma, we collected tumor and stroma cells from 36 invasive cervical carcinoma samples ...and 16 normal cervical tissues as well as Hela cells. Methylation specific PCR was used to detect promoter CpG island methylation status, and fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR was used to detection of OPCML gene expression. Our data showed that OPCML gene promoter methylation may play an important role in the carcinogenesis of cervical carcinoma and OPCML gene may be a cervical carcinoma-associated candidate TSG (tumor suppressor gene).
The sulfuric acid leaching kinetics of South African chromite was investigated. The negative influence of a solid product layer constituted of a silicon-rich phase and chromium-rich sulfate was ...eliminated by crushing the chromite and by selecting proper leaching con- ditions. The dimensionless change in specific surface area and the conversion rate of the chromite were observed to exhibit a proportional re- lationship. A modified shrinking particle model was developed to account for the change in reactive surface area, and the model was fitted to experimental data. The resulting model was observed to describe experimental findings very well. Kinetics analysis revealed that the leach- ing process is controlled by a chemical reaction under the employed experimental conditions and the activation energy of the reaction is 48 kJ.mol-1.
Objective: To find a natural plant essential oil(EO) with excellent antimicrobial effect on food-borne bacteria and to explore the mechanism of its antimicrobial function against Escherichia coli(E. ...coli). Methods: The antimicrobial activity of seven EOs against Gramnegative E. coli ATCC 8739 and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 was investigated using agar disk diffusion method, and the minimum inhibitory concentration(MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration(MBC) of each EO was determined using the broth dilution method. The chemical composition of the Trachyspermum copticum(T. copticum) EO was analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry(GC/MS). In order to explore the mechanism of the antimicrobial action, 1 MIC and 2 MIC of T. copticum EO was added to a suspension of E. coli, the growth curve and the scanning electron microscopy(SEM) analysis of E. coli, and the release of cell constituents and protein and potassium ions from the bacterial cell were measured. Results: The T. copticum EO had the best antimicrobial activity against the test bacteria, and 10 compounds accounting for 94.57% of the total oil were identified, with the major components being thymol(46.22%), p-cymene(19.03%), and 毭-terpinene(22.41%). The addition of 1 MIC T. copticum EO significantly inhibited the growth of E. coliand increased the release of cell constituents and protein and potassium ions from the bacterial cells. Scanning electron micrographs showed that T. copticum EO caused most of the E. colicell membranes to collapse and rupture, leading to cell death. Conclusions: These results indicate that T. copticum EO is a good natural antimicrobial agent for food-borne pathogens.
Job management is a key issue in computational grids, and normally involves job definition, scheduling, executing and monitoring. However, job management in the existing grid middleware needs to be ...improved in terms of efficiency and flexibility. This paper addresses a flexible architecture for job management with detailed design and implementation. Frameworks for job scheduling and monitoring, as two important aspects, are also presented. The proposed job management has the advantages of reusability of job definition, flexible and automatic file operation, visual steering of file transfer and job execution, and adaptive application job scheduler. A job management wizard is designed to implement each step. Therefore, what the grid user needs to do is only to define the job by constructing necessary information at runtime. In addition, the job space is adopted to ensure the security of the job management. Experimental results showed that this approach is user-friendly and system efficient.
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