Inhibition of GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis triggered by Trichinella spiralis intervention contributes to the alleviation of DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in mice.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is increasing worldwide. Although there is currently no completely curative treatment, helminthic therapy shows certain therapeutic potential for UC. Many studies have found that Trichinella spiralis (T.

Classification and Prognosis Analysis of Pancreatic Cancer Based on DNA Methylation Profile and Clinical Information.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) has a poor prognosis with high individual variation in the treatment response among patients; however, there is no standard molecular typing method for PAAD prognosis in clinical practice. We analyzed DNA methylation data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database, which identified 1235 differentially methylated DNA genes between PAAD and adjacent tissue samples. Among these, 78 methylation markers independently affecting PAAD prognosis were identified after adjusting for significant clinical factors.

Metagenomic analysis of the salivary microbiota in patients with caries, periodontitis and comorbid diseases.

Background/purpose: Previous studies have suggested that there is a mutual antagonism between caries and periodontitis. This research aimed to investigate the ecological connection and bacterial interaction of these two diseases.

Materials And Methods: We profiled and analyzed the salivary microbiota from 124 individuals (including 38 caries patients, 34 periodontitis patients, 15 comorbid diseases patients, and 37 healthy controls) by using 16 S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatics approaches, and also quantified their salivary bacteria loads via quantitative real-time PCR.

The presence of Prevotella melaninogenica within tissue and preliminary study on its role in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus.

Objective: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs in the oral mucosa with characteristic white striations lesions, recurrent erosions, and pains. The etiology and pathogenesis of OLP are still unclear.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed the bacterial community structure of buccal mucosa in patients with OLP and normal controls by high-throughput sequencing.

Gut microbiota contributes to the distinction between two traditional Chinese medicine syndromes of ulcerative colitis.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is considered to be closely associated with alteration of intestinal microorganisms. According to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, UC can be divided into two disease syndromes called Pi-Xu-Shi-Yun (PXSY) and Da-Chang-Shi-Re (DCSR). The relationships among gut microbiota, TCM syndromes, and UC pathogenesis have not been well investigated.

Gut microbiome may contribute to insulin resistance and systemic inflammation in obese rodents: a meta-analysis.

A number of studies have associated obesity with altered gut microbiota, although results are discordant regarding compositional changes in the gut microbiota of obese animals. Herein we used a meta-analysis to obtain an unbiased evaluation of structural and functional changes of the gut microbiota in diet-induced obese rodents. The raw sequencing data of nine studies generated from high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese rodent models were processed with QIIME to obtain gut microbiota compositions.

Clinical diagnostic value of viable Schistosoma japonicum eggs detected in host tissues.

Background: Schistosomiasis, one of the neglected tropical diseases, is endemic in more than 70 countries. However, the clinical diagnosis of patients with a low degree of infection is an unsolved technical problem. In areas endemic for schistosomiasis japonica, proctoscopy detection of eggs has been one method used for clinical diagnosis.

Anti-CTGF single-chain variable fragment dimers inhibit human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell proliferation by down-regulating p-Akt and p-mTOR levels.

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) contributes to airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell hyperplasia in asthma. Humanized single-chain variable fragment antibody (scFv) was well characterized as a CTGF antagonist in the differentiation of fibroblast into myofibroblast and pulmonary fibrosis in our previous studies. To further improve the bioactivity of scFv, we constructed a plasmid to express scFv-linker-matrilin-6×His fusion proteins that could self-assemble into the scFv dimers by disulfide bonds in matrilin under non-reducing conditions.

Multiplex real-time PCR for RRM1, XRCC1, TUBB3 and TS mRNA for prediction of response of non-small cell lung cancer to chemoradiotherapy.

Background: This study was aimed to establish a novel method to simultaneously detect expression of four genes, ribonucleotide reductase subunit M1(RRM1), X-ray repair cross-complementing gene 1 (XRCC1), thymidylate synthase (TS) and class III β-tubulin (TUBB3), and to assess their application in the clinic for prediction of response of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to chemoradiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: We have designed four gene molecular beacon (MB) probes for multiplex quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions to examine RRM1, XRCC1, TUBB3 and TS mRNA expression in paraffin-embedded specimens from 50 patients with advanced or metastatic carcinomas. Twenty one NSCLC patients receiving cisplatin- based first-line treatment were analyzed.

[Preparation of agar-paraffin double-embedded longitudinal sections of Schistosoma japonicum].

Schistosoma japonicum adults are pre-embedded in a double-layer agar and made the block, then dehydrated with alcohol, isobutyl alcohol and n-butyl alcohol. Various staining procedures can be conducted after conventional sectioning and dewaxing. Complete longitudinal serial sections of the pre-embedded worms can be obtained, and the desired sections can be easily located accurately.

[Screening and analysis of peptides specifically binding to the schistosomulum tegument of Schistosoma japonicum].

Objective: To screen and analyze the peptides in 12 phage-display peptide library specifically binding to the schistosomulum, not cercaria, tegument of Schistosoma japonicum.

Methods: A 12 phage-display peptide library was screened with the S. japonicum schistosomula and cercariae as the target cells for biopanning by degrees, 15 positive clones were picked randomly and deduced by DNA sequencing.

[Pathogen identification of 10 suspected cases of sparganosis mansoni].

Objective: To diagnose 10 cases of clinically suspected cases of sparganosis mansoni by pathogen identification.

Methods: In the period from August 2009 to August 2011, 10 biopsy specimens were obtained from 10 patients of four hospitals to identify the pathogen. Among the 10 cases, 4 cases showed abdominal subcutaneous mass, 3 showed eyelid swelling, 1 displayed brain lesions, 1 showed pulmonary mass, and 1 showed pleural effusion.

Identification of phage display peptides with affinity for the tegument of Schistosoma japonicum schistosomula.

Peptides, bound to the tegument of live Schistosoma japonicum schistosomula, were differentially screened by phage display in vitro using three rounds of reverse absorption and bio-panning. Three M13 phage peptides were isolated and identified by determination of their recovery rate, immunohistochemical localization, immunoblot analysis, and their anti-schistosomal effects in vivo and in vitro. Of the three, M13 phage peptide ZL4 (MppZL4, YSGLQDSSLRLR, 1.

[Screening and characterization of peptides specifically binding to the schistosomulum tegument of Schistosoma japonicum].

Objective: To screen and analyze the peptides in 12 phage-display peptide library specifically binding to the schistosomulum tegument of Schistosoma japonicum.

Methods: A 12 phage-display peptide library was screened with the S. japonicum schistosomula as the target cells for biopanning by degrees, positive clones picked randomly were deduced by DNA sequencing.

Transduction of Schistosoma japonicum schistosomules with vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein pseudotyped murine leukemia retrovirus and expression of reporter human telomerase reverse transcriptase in the transgenic schistosomes.

Although draft genome sequences of two of the major human schistosomes, Schistosoma japonicum and Schistosoma mansoni are available, the structures and characteristics of most genes and the influence of exogenous genes on the metabolism of schistosomes remain uncharacterized. Furthermore, which functional genomics approaches will be tractable for schistosomes are not yet apparent. Here, the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSVG)-pseudotyped pantropic retroviral vector pBABE-puro was modified to incorporate the human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (hTERT) as a reporter, under the control of the retroviral long terminal repeat (LTR).

Schistosoma japonicum: protective immunity induced by schistosomulum-derived cells in a mouse model.

We previously reported that immunization with intact live cells from schistosomula of Schistosoma japonicum (S.j) partially protected the Kunming strain of mice from challenge infection. In the present work, 2 immune protective experiments were designed to further validate the protective effect induced by this type of vaccine and to optimize the immunization protocol, including the number of inoculations and parasite stages from which immunogenic cells were derived.

Immunization of mice with cells from juvenile worms of Schistosoma japonicum provides immunoprotection against schistosomiasis.

To validate the protective efficacy against schistosomiasis by immunization with cells from juvenile Schistosoma japonicum in a murine model and to analyze possible factors related to protection, in this study, two independent repeated vaccination trials were performed. After three subcutaneous vaccinations, in trial one, in the absence of adjuvant, primary juvenile worm cells (pJCs) from S. japonicum induced remarkable average reductions in worm burden (54.

[Biological identification on sub-cultivation cells of Schistosoma japonicum adult worms in vitro].

Cultivation of cells from 30-day old Schistosoma japonicum (S.j) adult worms showed that the growth features of the cells were semi-floating and accumulative. The survival rate of the primary cells, passage cells prior to the 5th generation and recovered cells was all up to 90%.

[Construction and sequencing of recombinant plasmid pcDNA3/GRA1 from Toxoplasma gondii].

Objective: To construct a mammalian expression plasmid pcDNA3/GRA1 to express dense granules antigen-1 (GRA1) of Toxoplasma gondii, and to lay a foundation for further studying the protective immunity of pcDNA3/GRA1 as a DNA vaccine.

Methods: The GRA1 opening reading frame (ORF) was amplified with two specific primers. The ORF and plasmid pcDNA3 were digested with EcoR I and Xho I respectively and the ORF was ligated into the pcDNA3 at polylinker.

[Immunological screening of Toxoplasma tachyzoite cDNA expression libraries with serum from infected rats].

Objective: To screen and identify the potential candidates for the development of toxoplasmosis vaccine.

Methods: Rats were infected with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) RH strain and their sera were used as a probe to screen T.

[Improvement in the dot immunogold filtration assay].

Objective: To improve the filtrating unit of the dot immunogold filtration assay (DIGFA) to reduce its cost and make it suitable for fieldwork.

Methods: A thick round filtrating paper disc was made to replace the plastic filtrating box, and their results were compared.

Results: The size of the self-made filtrating paper disc was smaller and the cost was lower.