Clinical Features and CT Imaging Findings of Melioidosis Pneumonia / 中山大学学报(医学科学版)

ObjectiveTo summarize and analyze the clinical features and CT imaging findings of melioidosis pneumonia in order to increase awareness of this disease. MethodsA retrospective study was done on clinical and CT imaging data of 68 cases with melioidosis pneumonia diagnosed from January 1， 2012 to April 1， 2023. ResultsOf the 68 cases， 62 presented with acute infection and 6 chronic infection， 88.2% were male， 85.3% were native residents of Hainan， 85.3% were farmers， 77.9% had onset in summer and autumn， 66.2% had diabetes， 100% had fever as the first clinical symptom， and 88.2% were confirmed positive by blood culture. In most patients， white blood cell count， neutrophil ratio， C-reactive protein and calcitonin levels increased， while lymphocyte ratio decreased， but no statistical difference was found between acute and chronic infection groups （P > 0.05）. Of the patients， 36.8% recovered， 42.6% got better， 11.8% patients became therapy-resistant and 8.8% died. CT image showed pathomorphological changes including nodules/masses， patchy ground-glass attenuation or large patchy consolidation or all of these at the same time. Acute and chronic infection groups had significant difference in pathomorphological changes （P = 0.01）， but no statistical difference in other imaging findings. Moreover， 36.8% of the patients developed extrapulmonary infections， 8.8% of which multi-site abscess formation. ConclusionsMelioidosis Pneumonia should be considered if the patient is the sojourner from epidemic area， or has diabetes， high fever and rapid-developing disease， with additional presence of multiple inflammatory lesions in lung CT.

Research progress of lymph node micrometastasis detection and prognosis in stageⅠnon-small cell lung cancer / 医学研究生学报

Surgery is preferred for treating stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The main factors that affecting its prognosis are tumor metastasis and recurrence. In recent years, studies have revealed that the main cause of death in patients with stage I NSCLC is micrometastasis of lymph nodes. Micrometastasis has become a hot topic in modern precision medicine. Detection of micrometastasis as early as possible, early intervention and accurate assessment on prognosis of lung cancer have a great impact. The concept, methods and markers for clinical detection, as well as prognosis and adjuvant therapy of lymph node micrometastasis are reviewed in this article.

Expression profile of miR-501-5p in lung adenocarcinoma patients from Xuanwei area / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relationship between miR-501-5p expression and the clinicopathological factors in patients with lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei area.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Surgical specimens of lung adenocarcinoma and paired adjacent tissues from 24 patients with lung adenocarcinoma from Xuanwei area were examined for miR-501-5p expression using microRNA microarray technique and qPCR. Chi-square test was used to analyze the association of miR-501-5P expression with the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients. Multiple regression analysis was performed to analyze the association of miR-501-5p expression with the patients' gender, age, tumor stage, and preoperative CEA level.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MicroRNA microarray analysis and qPCR validation results revealed significantly upregulated expressions of miR-501-5p in patients with lung adenocarcinoma from Xuanwei area (Plt;0.01). The microarray data showed an up-regulation of miR-501-5p by 3.17 folds in lung adenocarcinoma tissue compared with the adjacent tissue (P=0.22376, FDR=0.071395). Chi-square test indicated that miR-501-5p expression level was associated with the patients' age (f=7.168, P=0.014), TNM stage (f=36.627, P<0.01), and preoperative serum CEA level (f=30.045, Plt;0.01), but not with the patients' gender (f=3.612, P=0.071). Multiple regression analysis revealed that miR-501-5p expression was positively correlated with the patients' age, TNM stage of the tumor, and serum CEA (Plt;0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>miR-501-5p expression is up-regulated in lung adenocarcinoma with significant associations with the patients' age, TNM stages and serum CEA level in patients from Xuanwei area, suggesting its potential role in the tumorigenesis and progression of lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei area.</p>

Specific microRNA expression profiles of lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei region and bioinformatic analysis for predicting their target genes and related signaling pathways / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) related to lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei region and predict their target genes and related signaling pathways based on bioinformatic analysis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>High-throughput microarray assay was performed to detect miRNA expression profiles in 34 paired human lung adenocarcinoma and adjacent normal tissues (including 24 cases in Xuanwei region and 10 in other regions). Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analyses were used to predict the target genes and the regulatory signaling pathways.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Thirty-four miRNAs were differentially expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues in cases in Xuanwei region as compared with cases in other regions, including 23 upregulated and 11 downregulated miRNAs. The predicted target genes included GF, RTK, SOS, IRS1, BCAP, CYTOKINSR, ECM, ITGB, FAK and Gbeta;Y involving the PI3K/Alt, WNT and MAPK pathways.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The specific microRNA expression profiles of lung adenocarcinoma in cases found in Xuanwei region allow for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma in Xuanwei. The predicted target genes may involve the PI3K/Alt, WNT and MAPK pathways.</p>

Relationship between high incidence of lung cancer among non-smoking women and silica in C1 bituminous coal in Xuanwei, Yunnan Province, China / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To measure the content of silica in C1 bituminous coal and its combustion products in the high-incidence area of lung cancer in Xuanwei, Yunnan Province, China and to investigate the relationship between high incidence of lung cancer among non-smoking women and silica produced naturally in C1 bituminous coal in Xuan Wei.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The C1 bituminous coal widely used in the high-incidence area of lung cancer in Xuanwei was selected as experiment group, while the C2+1, K7, and M30 bituminous coal that was mined and used in the low-incidence area of lung cancer in Xuanwei for more than 10 years were selected as control group. Fourteen paraffin-embedded cancer tissue samples from the non-smoking women with non-small cell lung cancer who were born in Xuanwei and were at least the 3rd generation of the family living there were collected from the department of pathology, the third affiliated hospital of kunming medical university (tumor hospital of yunnan province). Titrimetric potassium silicofluoride method was used to measure the content of silica in raw coal and its bottom ashes in 20 samples from the experimental group and control group. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the morphology of silica particles in C1 bituminous coal and its bottom ashes, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDX) was used to analyze the microscopic composition. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to observe the morphology of silica particles in the bottom ashes and coal soot of C1 bituminous coal as well as the lung cancer tissue from the non-smoking women in Xuanwei, and transmission electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (TEM-EDX) was used to analyze the microscopic composition. The silica particles were separated from the coal soot and bottom ashes and characterized by physical method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The silica content in C1 bituminous coal and its bottom ashes was significantly higher than that in C2+1, K7, and M30 bituminous coal (P < 0.05). The bottom ashes of C1 bituminous coal contained a large quantity of silica particles, mostly with microscale sizes. Silica particles were found in the soot of C1 bituminous coal and the lung cancer tissue from non-smoking women in Xuanwei. The silica particles in the bottom ashes were mostly 120 ∼ 500 nm in diameter, had various shapes, and contained such elements as iron, aluminium, calcium, and potassium; the silica particles in the coal soot were mostly nanoscale, ranging from 37 nm to 80 nm in diameter, had various shapes, with some in fibrous form, had non smooth surfaces, and contained such elements as iron, potassium, calcium, aluminium, and sulfur.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In Xuanwei, the incidence of lung cancer among non-smoking women is high in the area where silica-rich C1 bituminous coal is produced. There are silica particles enriched in both the combustion products (coal soot and bottom ashes) of C1 bituminous coal and the cancer tissue from the non-smoking women with non-small cell lung cancer, with similar morphology and microscopic composition. We hypothesize that the silica particles from combusted C1 bituminous coal in Xuanwei are mixed with indoor air and inhaled along with other suspended particles.</p>

Expression of transcription factor SOX4 and its clinical significance in female lung cancer patients in Xuanwei area, Yunnan Province / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of transcription factor SOX4 in lung cancer tissues of female patients in Xuanwei area, Yunnan Province, and explore its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of the female patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Real-time PCR was applied on lung cancer specimens and their corresponding normal lung tissues from 96 female cases of Xuanwei area to assess the expression of SOX4 mRNA. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to investigate the SOX4 protein expression, and further to elucidate its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression level of SOX4 mRNA in the cancer tissues (2.53 ± 1.65) was significantly higher than that of matched normal tissues (1.43 ± 1.14, P = 0.003). Immunohistochemical staining showed that there were 53.1% (51/96) positive expression of SOX4 protein in the cancer tissue and only 26.0% (25/96) in matched normal tissue (P < 0.001). The expression of SOX4 protein had a significant correlation with clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and differentiation of tumor (P < 0.05). The survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier method showed that patients with positive expression of SOX4 protein, lymph node metastasis and advanced tumor stage had a significantly shorter median survival time (P < 0.05). Cox regression survival analysis showed that pathological grade was a significant independent factor affecting prognosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The expressions of SOX4 mRNA and protein are significantly up-regulated in Xuanwei female lung cancer patients. Patients with positive SOX4 expression have a shorter median survival time. SOX4 protein expression level combined with pathological grade can be used as a prognostic indicator of female lung cancer patients in Xuanwei area, Yunnan Province.</p>

The Effect of Sertoli Cells Feeders on Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cells Cultured in vitro / 中国生物工程杂志

Objective Spermatogonial stem cells(SSCs)dissociated from 2～5 days postpartum mice were cultured on Sertoli cells feeders,to study the effect of Sertoli cells feeders on culture of mouse spermatogonial stem cells.Methods Specific markers CD9 of mouse SSCs cultured serum-free StemPro-34 SFM culture medium were identified by immunohistochemical assay.Result During the first week of culture,on Sertoli cells feeders or STO feeders,the biologica1 behaviors of spermatogonial stem cells showed no obvious difference.After a week of culture,compared with control,there were more number of spermatogonial stem cells remained when they were cultured for 60 days.These cells were expressed CD9 positive.In conclusion Sertoli cells can be used as feeders not only to promote survival but also renewal of spermatogonial stem cells.