Light-induced injury in mouse embryos revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing

BACKGROUND: Light exposure is a common stress factor in in vitro manipulation of embryos in the reproductive center. Many studies have shown the deleterious effects of high-intensity light exposure in different animal embryos. However, no transcriptomic studies have explored the light-induced injury and response in preimplantation embryos. RESULTS: Here, we adopt different time-courses and illumination intensities to treat mouse embryos at the 2-cell stage and evaluate their effects on blastulation. Meanwhile, single-cell transcriptomes from the 2-cell to blastocyst stage were analyzed after high-intensity light exposure. These data show that cells at each embryonic stage can be categorized into different light conditions. Further analyses of differentially expressed genes and GO terms revealed the light-induced injury as well as the potential repair response after high-intensity lighting. Maternal-to-zygote transition is also affected by the failure to remove maternal RNAs and deactivate zygotic genome expression. CONCLUSION: Our work revealed an integrated response to high-intensity lighting, involving morphological changes, long-lasting injury effects, and intracellular damage repair mechanisms.

Depression status of 136 patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of the oral cancer flap and analysis of influencing factors / 口腔疾病防治

Objective@#To explore the depression and influencing factors of patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of oral cancer flaps and to provide evidence for postoperative care.@*Methods@#One hundred thirty-six patients with oral cancer who had undergone adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of skin flaps at 4 affiliated hospitals in Harbin Medical University were selected by convenience sampling. The basic information of the patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of skin flaps was collected, a self-rating scale for depression was used to assess depression, and a questionnaire was used to assess symptom distress. Depression and its influencing factors were determined by multiple stepwise regression analysis. @*Results@#The average score of depression in patients with oral cancer after skin flap reconstruction was (52.32±13.11): 33.1% of the patients showed mild depression, 21.3% showed moderate depression, and 2.2% showed severe depression. Postoperatively, the patients had pain, dysphagia, taste disorders, temporomandibular joint and salivary gland dysfunction, as well as marital and financial problems. The results showed that dysphagia (P < 0.001), taste disorder (P < 0.001), marital status (P=0.004) and family income per month (P= 0.011) could be the influencing factors of depression in patients with oral cancer during radiotherapy, and a significant correlation was found between them.@*Conclusion @#Patients with adjuvant radiotherapy after reconstruction of oral cancer flaps have depressive symptoms, which will seriously affect the quality of life. Therefore, the care of such patients should focus on improving the postoperative depression of patients.

A simple and effective pressure culture system modified from a transwell cell culture system

Mechanical pressure plays an important role in many physiological and pathological processes. Mimicking the mechanical pressure present in vitro is necessary for related research, but usually requires expensive and complicated equipment. In this study we created a simple pressure culture system based on the transwell culture system. By cutting off the top rim of the transwell insert, the cells were compressed between the insert membrane and the well floor. The new pressure culture system was proven effective in that it induced cell morphological change, integrin β1 upregulation, actin polymerization and growth change in rat retinal ganglion cells, human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and mice embryonic fibroblasts. Though the pressure value is immeasurable and inhomogeneous, the easily available culture system still provides a choice for the laboratories that do not have access to the better, but much more expensive pressure culture equipment.

Clinical experiment of cytokines induced killer cells for treatment of benzene poisoning / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the reaction of cytokines induced killer (CIK) cells treatment in hematopoietic injury at different levels on patients with benzene poisoning and seek a novel, safe and effective immunotherapy for benzene poisoning.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>CIK cells were in vitro activated by interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte-macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Thirty-two patients with benzene poisoning were treated with CIK cells. Nineteen patients with mild or moderate benzene poisoning in the control group were treated with VitB4, batilol, leucogen, inosine and stanozolol. The results for treatment of 12 patients with aplastic anemia induced by severe benzene poisoning (the efficacy rate and the case fatality rate) were analyzed. The change of T-lymphocyte subset analyzed by flow cytometry was also observed before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>For mild or moderate benzene poisoning, the increase of WBC and RLT in CIK group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The CD(4)/CD(8) levels were significantly increased after CIK treatment. And for severe benzene poisoning, the effective rate of the CIK group was 91.7% and the mortality rate was 0%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CIK treatment is safe and effective for hematopoietic injury caused by benzene poisoning. The mechanism may be related with the immune modulation of CIK treatment on immunodeficiency of patients with benzene poisoning.</p>