A systematic survey of LU domain-containing proteins reveals a novel human gene, LY6A, which encodes the candidate ortholog of mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1 and is aberrantly expressed in pituitary tumors / 医学前沿

The Ly-6 and uPAR (LU) domain-containing proteins represent a large family of cell-surface markers. In particular, mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1 is a widely used marker for various stem cells; however, its human ortholog is missing. In this study, based on a systematic survey and comparative genomic study of mouse and human LU domain-containing proteins, we identified a previously unannotated human gene encoding the candidate ortholog of mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1. This gene, hereby named LY6A, reversely overlaps with a lncRNA gene in the majority of exonic sequences. We found that LY6A is aberrantly expressed in pituitary tumors, but not in normal pituitary tissues, and may contribute to tumorigenesis. Similar to mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1, human LY6A is also upregulated by interferon, suggesting a conserved transcriptional regulatory mechanism between humans and mice. We cloned the full-length LY6A cDNA, whose encoded protein sequence, domain architecture, and exon-intron structures are all well conserved with mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1. Ectopic expression of the LY6A protein in cells demonstrates that it acts the same as mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1 in their processing and glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchoring to the cell membrane. Collectively, these studies unveil a novel human gene encoding a candidate biomarker and provide an interesting model gene for studying gene regulatory and evolutionary mechanisms.

Clinical application of carbon nanoparticles in surgery for papillary thyroid carcinoma in young patients / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the number of dissected lymph nodes and the incidence of injury to parathyroid glands during surgery for papillary thyroid carcinoma (DTC) in young patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study collected clinicopathological data of 51 young patients with PTC. Of the 51 patients, 18 patients were classified into carbon nanoparticles group (CNP group) and 33 patients into traditional surgical group (TS group). The number of dissected lymph nodes and the incidence of injury to parathyroid glands were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank sum test and chi-square test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 16 males and 35 females, with a male/female ratio of 1: 2.19. The age ranged from 14 to 29 (25 ± 3.9) years. There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, T-classification, TNM stage and surgical procedures between two groups (P > 0.05). The total number of dissected lymph nodes in CNP group was higher than that in TS group (Z = -2.258, P < 0.05) . However, significant difference in the total number of metastatic lymph nodes between the two groups was not found (Z = -0.396, P > 0.05). In level VI, the detected lymph node number of group CNP was higher than that of TS group (Z = -2.461, P < 0.05) but there was no significant difference in the detected number of metastatic lymph nodes (Z = -1.396, P > 0.05) . The rates of injury to parathyroid gland were 5.5% in CNP group and 18.2% in TS group, respectively (χ(2) = 1.568, P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Carbon nanoparticles could be an effective lymph nodes tracer applying to PTC operation in young patients.</p>

Treatment of Acne Vulgaris Based on TCM Syndrome Differentiation: An Observation of 64 Cases with Lung-heat and Spleen-deficiency / 广州中医药大学学报

[Objective] To observe the therapeutic effect of Qingfei Jianpi Decoction (QJD) for the treatment of acne vulgaris (AV) . [Methods] One hundred and five cases of AV were randomized into two groups: group A (n =64) was treated with QJD, a prescription medicine mainly composed of Herba Houttuyniae, Cortex Lycii, Cortex Moutan, Radix Scutellariae, Radix Fici Simplicissimae, Radix Flemingiae Philippinensis, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Poria, etc. , and group B (n=41) with tetracycline for 4 weeks. After treatment, the therapeutic effect, changes of facial lesion and signs, and side effects were observed. A 3-month follow-up was made for the cured patients to investigate the recurrence rate. [Results] Facial lesion and seborrheic degree were relieved in group A, the difference being significant as compared with those before treatment (P0.05 ) . The therapeutic effect was better in group A than that in group B (P