Percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder

OBJECTIVE: Ventricular septal defects resulting from post-traumatic cardiac injury are very rare. Percutaneous closure has emerged as a method for treating this disorder. We wish to report our experience in three patients who underwent percutaneous closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder. METHODS: We treated three patients with post-traumatic ventricular septal defects caused by stab wounds with knives. After the heart wound was repaired, patient examinations revealed ventricular septal defects with pulmonary/systemic flow ratios (Qp/Qs) of over 1.7. The post-traumatic ventricular septal defects were closed percutaneously with a patent ductus arteriosus occluder (Lifetech Scientific (Shenzhen) Co., LTD, Guangdong, China) utilizing standard techniques. RESULTS: Post-operative transthoracic echocardiography revealed no residual left-to-right shunt and indicated normal ventricular function. In addition, 320-slice computerized tomography showed that the occluder was well placed and exhibited normal morphology. CONCLUSION: Our experiences indicate that closure of a post-traumatic ventricular septal defect using a patent ductus arteriosus occluder is feasible, safe, and effective

Chemoradiotherapy-Induced CD4+ and CD8+ T-Cell Alterations to Predict Patient Outcomes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose and Objectives: Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is an important component of treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Recent research findings support the role of CRT in activating an anti-tumor immune response. However, predictors of CRT efficacy are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to measure CRT-induced changes to lymphocyte subpopulations and to evaluate the prognostic value of lymphocyte alterations for patients with ESCC.Materials and Methods: In total, this pilot study enrolled 64 patients with ESCC who received neo-adjuvant CRT or definitive CRT. Peripheral blood samples were collected before and during treatment and were analyzed by flow cytometry for CD19, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD56, and CD16. Relationships between lymphocyte subset alterations and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated using the log-rank test and a Cox regression model.Results: The median follow-up period was 11.8 months (range, 4.0–20.2 months). Compared to pre-treatment specimens, post-treatment blood samples had decreased proportions of CD19+ B-cells and increased proportions of CD3+ and CD8+ T-cells (all P < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that increased CD4+ T-cell ratios after CRT independently predicted superior PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.383; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.173–0.848, P = 0.017) and that increased CD8+ T-cell ratios predicted improved OS (HR = 0.258; 95% CI = 0.083–0.802, P = 0.019). Patients with both increased CD4+ and CD8+ ratios had a superior PFS and OS, compared to patients with an increased CD4+ ratio only or CD8+ ratio only or neither (1-year PFS rate 63 vs. 25%, 1-year OS rate 80 vs. 62%, P = 0.005 and 0.025, respectively).Conclusions: CRT-induced increases in CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell ratios are reliable biomarker predictors of survival in patients with ESCC

Relationship between Serum Levels of OPG and TGF- β

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum levels of OPG, TGF-β1, and TGF-β2 and BMD decrease rate (BDR) in native Chinese women. This cross-sectional study was performed on 465 healthy native Chinese women aged 35–80 years. Serum levels of OPG, TGF-β1, and TGF-β2 were determined. BDR was measured by DXA at the posteroanterior spine, hip, and distal forearm. At all skeletal sites tested, there was a negative correlation between BDR and serum levels of both OPG (r=−0.122 to –0.230, all P = 0.007–0.000) and TGF-β2 (r=−0.100 to –0.173, all P = 0.029–0.000) and a positive correlation between BDR and serum TGF-β1 (r=0.245−0.365, all P=0.000). After adjustment for age and BMI, there were no statistically significant correlations between serum levels of OPG or TGF-β2 and BDR. However, statistically significant correlations between serum TGF-β1 and BDR at the lumbar spine and ultradistal forearm remained. Multiple linear regression stepwise analysis showed that serum OPG could explain 1.4–3.7% of BDR variation. Serum TGF-β1 was a positive determinant of BDR and could explain 5.3–13.3% of BDR variation

Differentially expressed profiles in the larval testes of Wolbachia infected and uninfected Drosophila

BACKGROUND: Wolbachia are endosymbiotic bacteria that are frequently found in arthropods and nematodes. These maternally inherited bacteria manipulate host reproduction by several mechanisms including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI is the most common phenotype induced by Wolbachia and results in the developmental arrest of embryos derived from crosses between Wolbachia-infected males and uninfected females. Although the molecular mechanisms of CI are currently unknown, several studies suggest that host sperm is modified by Wolbachia during spermatogenesis. RESULTS: We compared the gene expression of Drosophila melanogaster larval testes with and without the wMel strain of Wolbachia to identify candidate genes that could be involved in the interaction between Wolbachia and the insect host. Microarray, quantitative RT-PCR and in situ hybridization analyses were carried out on D. melanogaster larval testes to determine the effect of Wolbachia infection on host gene expression. A total of 296 genes were identified by microarray analysis to have at least a 1.5 fold change [q-value < 5%] in expression. When comparing Wolbachia-infected flies to uninfected flies, 167 genes were up-regulated and 129 genes down-regulated. Differential expression of genes related to metabolism, immunity, reproduction and other functions were observed. Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed 12 genes are differentially expressed in the testes of the 3rd instar larvae of Wolbachia-infected and uninfected flies. In situ hybridization demonstrated that Wolbachia infection changes the expression of several genes putatively associated with spermatogenesis including JH induced protein-26 and Mst84Db, or involved in immune (kenny) or metabolism (CG4988-RA). CONCLUSIONS: Wolbachia change the gene expression of 296 genes in the larval testes of D. melanogaster including genes related to metabolism, immunity and reproduction. Interestingly, most of the genes putatively involved in immunity were up-regulated in the presence of Wolbachia. In contrast, most of the genes putatively associated with reproduction (especially spermatogenesis) were down-regulated in the presence of Wolbachia. These results suggest Wolbachia may activate the immune pathway but inhibit spermatogenesis. Our data provide a significant panel of candidate genes that may be involved in the interaction between Wolbachia and their insect hosts. This forms a basis to help elucidate the underlying mechanisms of Wolbachia-induced CI in Drosophila and the influence of Wolbachia on spermatogenesis

Joint analysis of three genome-wide association studies of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Chinese populations

We conducted a joint (pooled) analysis of three genome-wide association studies (GWAS) 1-3 of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in ethnic Chinese (5,337 ESCC cases and 5,787 controls) with 9,654 ESCC cases and 10,058 controls for follow-up. In a logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, study, and two eigenvectors, two new loci achieved genome-wide significance, marked by rs7447927 at 5q31.2 (per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 0.85, 95% CI 0.82-0.88; P=7.72x10−20) and rs1642764 at 17p13.1 (per-allele OR= 0.88, 95% CI 0.85-0.91; P=3.10x10−13). rs7447927 is a synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TMEM173 and rs1642764 is an intronic SNP in ATP1B2, near TP53. Furthermore, a locus in the HLA class II region at 6p21.32 (rs35597309) achieved genome-wide significance in the two populations at highest risk for ESSC (OR=1.33, 95% CI 1.22-1.46; P=1.99x10−10). Our joint analysis identified new ESCC susceptibility loci overall as well as a new locus unique to the ESCC high risk Taihang Mountain region