Acute Q Fever and Scrub Typhus, Southern Taiwan

Acute Q fever and scrub typhus are zoonoses endemic to southern Taiwan. Among the 137 patients with acute Q fever (89, 65.0%) or scrub typhus (43, 31.4%), we identified 5 patients (3.6%) who were co-infected with Coxiella burnetii and Orientia tsutsugamushi

Mechanisms of GOLPH3 associated with the progression of gastric cancer: a preliminary study.

STUDY DESIGN: To investigate the specific mechanisms by which Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) affects the progression of gastric cancer and to explore its clinical significance. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis was used to evaluate the correlations between GOLPH3, phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), phosphorylated p70S6 (p-p70S6), phosphorylated 4E-BP1 (p-4E-BP1) and the clinicopathological features of gastric cancer. The mRNA expression levels of GOLPH3, mTOR, Akt, p70S6 and 4E-BP1 in gastric cancer, carcinoma-adjacent and paired normal tissue were analyzed using RT-PCR. Western blotting was used to determine the protein expression of GOLPH3, p-mTOR, p-Akt, p-p70S6 and p-4E-BP1 in tissues. RESULTS: High expression protein levels of GOLPH3, p-AKT, p-mTOR, p70S6, p-4E-BP1 were positively associated with histological grade (p<0.05), depth of invasion (p<0.05), distant metastasis (p<0.05) and lymph node involvement (p<0.05). Compared with carcinoma-adjacent and paired normal tissues, the mRNA expression levels of GOLPH3, AKT, mTOR, p70S6 and 4EBP1 in gastric cancer tissues were significantly higher. The protein expression levels of GOLPH3, p-AKT, p-mTOR, p-p70S6 and p-4E-BP1 in gastric cancer tissues were also significantly higher than in carcinoma-adjacent and paired normal tissues. A strong positive correlation was observed between GOLPH3, p-mTOR, p-p70S6 and p-4EBP1 expression (r = 0.410, 0.303 and 0.276, respectively, p<0.05), but no significant correlation between the expression of GOLPH3 and p-Akt was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The GOPLH3 expression level is highly correlated with Akt/mTOR signaling in human gastric cancer samples. GOLPH3 combined with Akt/mTOR signaling activation may play an important role in the development, differentiation, invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer

<i>Piriformospora indica</i> Enhances Resistance to Fusarium wilt in Strawberry by Increasing the Activity of Superoxide Dismutase, Peroxidase, and Catalase, While Reducing the Content of Malondialdehyde in the Roots

Strawberry Fusarium wilt, mainly caused by Fusarium oxysoporum f. sp. Fragariae (Fof), seriously threatens the yield and quality of strawberry. Piriformospora indica is an endophytic fungus that can colonise the roots of a wide range of plants, promoting plant growth and enhancing plant resistance. Against this background, the positive effects of P. indica on the growth of the daughter plants of ‘Benihoppe’ strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) under Fof stress were investigated in this study. The study began by examining the inhibitory effect of P. indica on Fof growth through dual culture on agar plates. Subsequently, a symbiotic system between P. indica and strawberry plantlets was established, and the impact of P. indica on Fusarium wilt resistance and related physiological and biochemical indexes of the plantlets were evaluated. The results indicate that fungus colonization with P. indica significantly enhances the growth indices of strawberries, including plant height, petiole length, petiole diameter, and leaf area. Additionally, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) in the leaves of P. indica were increased, and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased compared to those without colonization. Under the stress from Fof, the growth indexes of plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, petiole diameter, and root length of strawberry plants colonization with P. indica were significantly higher than those without colonization and the symptoms of wilting were relatively mild. The activities of SOD, POD, and CAT in roots and leaves of plants colonized with P. indica were significantly increased compared to those without colonization. Furthermore, the content of MDA in roots was decreased. These results suggested that P. indica could increase resistance to Fusarium wilt in strawberry by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes and reducing the content of MDA

Correlation between clinicopathological features and the p-AKT1, p-4E-BP1 expression in gastric cancer specimen.

<p>The associations between protein expression and clinicopathological variables were estimated using the chi-squared test.</p><p>*Significant at the level of <i>p</i><0.05.</p><p>Correlation between clinicopathological features and the p-AKT1, p-4E-BP1 expression in gastric cancer specimen.</p

Correlation between clinicopathological features and the GOPLH3, p-mTOR expression in gastric cancer specimen.

<p>The associations between protein expression and clinicopathological variables were estimated using the chi-squared test.</p><p>*Significant at the level of <i>p</i><0.05.</p><p>Correlation between clinicopathological features and the GOPLH3, p-mTOR expression in gastric cancer specimen.</p

Representative images showed semi-quantitative RT-PCR for GOLPH3, Akt, mTOR, 4E-BP1 and p70S6 transcription.

<p><b>cancer</b>: The gastric cancer group (n = 80); <b>paracancerous</b>: The paracancerous tissue group (n = 80); <b>normal</b>: The paired normal gastric mucosa group (n = 80). <b>A</b>, <b>B</b>, <b>C</b>, <b>D</b> and <b>E</b>: The mRNA levels of GOPLH3, Akt, mTOR, 4E-BP1, p70S6 in the different measured by RT-PCR, respectively. <b>F</b>, <b>G</b>, <b>H</b>, <b>I</b> and <b>J</b>: Densitometric quantification of GOLPH3, Akt, mTOR, 4E-BP1 and p70S6 mRNA expression in different tissues, respectively. The mRNA expression was significantly different with each other and peaked at cancer. The data are presented as the mean ± the SE. *<i>p</i><0.05 versus cancer, ^#<i>p</i><0.05 versus paracancerous.</p

High seroprevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM in acute Q fever by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Q fever is serologically cross-reactive with other intracellular microorganisms. However, studies of the serological status of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydophila pneumoniae during Q fever are rare. We conducted a retrospective serological study of M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), a method widely used in clinical practice, in 102 cases of acute Q fever, 39 cases of scrub typhus, and 14 cases of murine typhus. The seropositive (57.8%, 7.7%, and 0%, p<0.001) and seroconversion rates (50.6%, 8.8%, and 0%, p<0.001) of M. pneumoniae IgM, but not M. pneumoniae IgG and C. pneumoniae IgG/IgM, in acute Q fever were significantly higher than in scrub typhus and murine typhus. Another ELISA kit also revealed a high seropositivity (49.5%) and seroconversion rate (33.3%) of M. pneumoniae IgM in acute Q fever. The temporal and age distributions of patients with positive M. pneumoniae IgM were not typical of M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Comparing acute Q fever patients who were positive for M. pneumoniae IgM (59 cases) with those who were negative (43 cases), the demographic characteristics and underlying diseases were not different. In addition, the clinical manifestations associated with atypical pneumonia, including headache (71.2% vs. 81.4%, p=0.255), sore throat (8.5% vs. 16.3%, p=0.351), cough (35.6% vs. 23.3%, p=0.199), and chest x-ray suggesting pneumonia (19.3% vs. 9.5%, p=0.258), were unchanged between the two groups. Clinicians should be aware of the high seroprevalence of M. pneumoniae IgM in acute Q fever, particularly with ELISA kits, which can lead to misdiagnosis, overestimations of the prevalence of M. pneumoniae pneumonia, and underestimations of the true prevalence of Q fever pneumonia

Correlation between clinicopathological features and the p-P70S6 expression in gastric cancer specimen.

<p>The associations between protein expression and clinicopathological variables were estimated using the chi-squared test.</p><p>*Significant at the level of <i>p</i><0.05.</p><p>Correlation between clinicopathological features and the p-P70S6 expression in gastric cancer specimen.</p