Association between salivary microbiota and renal function in renal transplant patients during the perioperative period

IntroductionRenal transplantation is an effective treatment for the end stage renal disease (ESRD). However, how salivary microbiota changes during perioperative period of renal transplant recipients (RTRs) has not been elucidated.MethodsFive healthy controls and 11 RTRs who had good recovery were enrolled. Saliva samples were collected before surgery and at 1, 3, 7, and 14 days after surgery. 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the composition of salivary microbiota between ESRD patients and healthy controls. The salivary microbiota of RTRs showed higher operational taxonomic units (OTUs) amount and greater alpha and beta diversity than those of ESRD patients and healthy controls, but gradually stabilized over time. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Tenericutes and Spirochaetes was about ten times different from ESRD patients or healthy controls for RTRs overall in time. The relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, Patescibacteria, Leptotrichiaceae and Streptococcaceae was correlated with serum creatinine (Scr) after renal transplantation.DiscussionIn short, salivary microbiota community altered in the perioperative period of renal transplantation and certain species of salivary microbiota had the potential to be a biomarker of postoperative recovery

Liver Transplantation in China

Liver transplantation has been developed in Mainland China for about 40 years, from clinical trials to maturity. Its number has become the second in the world, its quality is also in line with the international level, and the source of donors has gradually transitioned to donation after citizen’s death (DCD). This chapter is aimed to elaborate the liver transplant work in China from the history and current status of liver transplantation, the main operating methods, major indications, donor maintenance and donor quality assessment, postoperative major complications, and application of immunosuppressive agents to the postoperative follow-up. Liver transplantation is a meaningful and challenging work currently in China; all the Chinese transplant surgeons and scholars are devoting themselves to this work in order to give more effective help to the patients

The detailed distribution of T cell subpopulations in immune-stable renal allograft recipients: a single center study

Background Most renal allograft recipients reach a stable immune state (neither rejection nor infection) after transplantation. However, the detailed distribution of overall T lymphocyte subsets in the peripheral blood of these immune-stable renal transplant recipients remains unclear. We aim to identify differences between this stable immune state and a healthy immune state. Methods In total, 103 recipients underwent renal transplantation from 2012 to 2016 and received regular follow-up in our clinic. A total of 88 of these 103 recipients were enrolled in our study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 47 patients were 1 year post-transplantation, and 41 were 5 years post-transplantation. In addition, 41 healthy volunteers were recruited from our physical examination clinic. Detailed T cell subpopulations from the peripheral blood were assessed via flow cytometry. The parental frequency of each subset was calculated and compared among the diverse groups. Results The demographics and baseline characteristics of every group were analyzed. The frequency of total T cells (CD3+) was decreased in the renal allograft recipients. No difference in the variation of the CD4+, CD8+, and activated (HLA-DR+) T cell subsets was noted among the diverse groups. Regarding T cell receptor (TCR) markers, significant reductions were found in the proportion of γδ T cells and their Vδ2 subset in the renal allograft recipients. The proportions of both CD4+ and CD8+ programmed cell death protein (PD) 1+ T cell subsets were increased in the renal allograft recipients. The CD27+CD28+ T cell proportions in both the CD4+ and CD8+ populations were significantly decreased in the allograft recipients, but the opposite results were found for both CD4+ and CD8+ CD27-CD28- T cells. An increased percentage of CD4+ effector memory T cells and a declined fraction of CD8+ central memory T cells were found in the renal allograft recipients. Conclusion Limited differences in general T cell subsets (CD4+, CD8+, and HLA-DR+) were noted. However, obvious differences between renal allograft recipients and healthy volunteers were identified with TCR, PD1, costimulatory molecules, and memory T cell markers

Clinicopathological Significance and Prognostic Value of DNA Methyltransferase 1, 3a, and 3b Expressions in Sporadic Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Altered DNA methylation of tumor suppressor gene promoters plays a role in human carcinogenesis and DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) are responsible for it. This study aimed to determine aberrant expression of DNMT1, DNMT3a, and DNMT3b in benign and malignant ovarian tumor tissues for their association with clinicopathological significance and prognostic value. A total of 142 ovarian cancers and 44 benign ovarian tumors were recruited for immunohistochemical analysis of their expression. The data showed that expression of DNMT1, DNMT3a, and DNMT3b was observed in 76 (53.5%), 92 (64.8%) and 79 (55.6%) of 142 cases of ovarian cancer tissues, respectively. Of the serious tumors, DNMT3a protein expression was significantly higher than that in benign tumor samples (P = 0.001); DNMT3b was marginally significant down regulated in ovarian cancers compared to that of the benign tumors (P = 0.054); DNMT1 expression has no statistical difference between ovarian cancers and benign tumor tissues (P = 0.837). Of the mucious tumors, the expression of DNMT3a, DNMT3b, and DNMT1 was not different between malignant and benign tumors. Moreover, DNMT1 expression was associated with DNMT3b expression (P = 0.020, r = 0.195). DNMT1 expression was associated with age of the patients, menopause status, and tumor localization, while DNMT3a expression was associated with histological types and serum CA125 levels and DNMT3b expression was associated with lymph node metastasis. In addition, patients with DNMT1 or DNMT3b expression had a trend of better survival than those with negative expression. Co-expression of DNMT1 and DNMT3b was significantly associated with better overall survival (P = 0.014). The data from this study provided the first evidence for differential expression of DNMTs proteins in ovarian cancer tissues and their associations with clinicopathological and survival data in sporadic ovarian cancer patients

Structural, magnetic and transport study of DBPLD fabricated magnetic semiconductors

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Solvability and Stability of Impulsive Set Dynamic Equations on Time Scales

A class of new nonlinear impulsive set dynamic equations is considered based on a new generalized derivative of set-valued functions developed on time scales in this paper. Some novel criteria are established for the existence and stability of solutions of such model. The approaches generalize and incorporate as special cases many known results for set (or fuzzy) differential equations and difference equations when the time scale is the set of the real numbers or the integers, respectively. Finally, some examples show the applicability of our results

Spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of urban resilience efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China.

Urban resilience efficiency is an important indicator to explore the relationship between resource consumption and urban resilience, shedding new light on the study of urban sustainable development. Based on the panel data of 2008, 2012, and 2017, this paper makes a spatiotemporal assessment on the urban resilience efficiency of 126 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) in China by applying an entropy weight-TOPSIS method and a slack-based measure (SBM) model. Combined with the analysis of a geographically weighted regression model (GWR), the influencing factors on resilience efficiency are also investigated. The results show that both the resource consumption index (RC, inputs) and the urban resilience index (UR, outputs) presented a steady upward trend, and their spatial distribution characteristics were similar, showing a gradual decrease from the eastern coastal cities to the central and western inland cities. Derived from inputs and outputs, the mean values of resilience efficiency index (RE) in three periods were 0.3149, 0.2906, and 0.1625, respectively, revealing that there had been a noticeable decline. Spatially, its spatial distribution has evolved from a relatively balanced pattern to an unbalanced one, showing a gradual decrease from west to east. The results of the GWR model analysis indicate that the total electricity consumption and area of construction land had a considerable correlation with the overall urban resilience of the YREB. Furthermore, total quantity of water supply and science and technology (S&T) expenditure continued to be the main driving factors on urban resilience of the upstream cities. The midstream regions mainly depended on the scale of construction land, and the influencing factors are relatively single. The influencing factors in the downstream areas have changed from dominance of resources and capital factors to the single dominance of resource factors, and total electricity consumption had a strong explanatory power. Based on these findings, we had put forward the overall and local regional policy implications

Monocyte Chemotactic Protein–Induced Protein 1 Controls Allergic Airway Inflammation By Suppressing Il-5–Producing TH2 Cells Through The Notch/Gata3 Pathway

Background: Asthmatic and allergic inflammation is mediated by TH2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13). Although we have learned much about how TH2 cells are differentiated, the TH2 checkpoint mechanisms remain elusive. Objectives: In this study we investigate how monocyte chemotactic protein–induced protein 1 (MCPIP1; encoded by the Zc3h12a gene) regulates IL-5–producing TH2 cell differentiation and TH2-mediated inflammation. Methods: The functions of Zc3h12a−/− CD4 T cells were evaluated by checking the expression of TH2 cytokines and transcription factors in vivo and in vitro. Allergic airway inflammation of Zc3h12a−/− mice was examined with murine asthma models. In addition, antigen-specific CD4 T cells deficient in MCPIP1 were transferred to wild-type recipient mice, challenged with ovalbumin (OVA) or house dust mite (HDM), and accessed for TH2 inflammation. Results: Zc3h12a−/− mice have spontaneous severe lung inflammation, with an increase in mainly IL-5– and IL-13–producing but not IL-4–producing TH2 cells in the lung. Mechanistically, differentiation of IL-5–producing Zc3h12a−/− TH2 cells is mediated through Notch signaling and Gata3 independent of IL-4. Gata3 mRNA is stabilized in Zc3h12a−/− TH2 cells. MCPIP1 promotes Gata3 mRNA decay through the RNase domain. Furthermore, deletion of MCPIP1 in OVA- or HDM-specific T cells leads to significantly increased TH2-mediated airway inflammation in OVA or HDM murine models of asthma. Conclusions: Our study reveals that MCPIP1 regulates the development and function of IL-5–producing TH2 cells through the Notch/Gata3 pathway. MCPIP1 represents a new and promising target for the treatment of asthma and other TH2-mediated diseases