Seminal plasma S100A8/A9 as a potential biomarker of genital tract inflammation.

ABSTRACT: Infections and inflammatory reactions in the male genital tract are the leading causes of male infertility with a prevalence of 6%-10%, primarily affecting testicular and epididymal function and ultimately compromising sperm quality. However, most infertile patients with genital infection/inflammation are asymptomatic and easily overlooked. Traditional indicators, including white blood cells, elastase, and other components in semen, can reflect inflammation of the genital tract, but there is still a lack of a uniform standard method of detection. Therefore, it is necessary to explore reliable markers in semen that reflect the inflammatory status of the genital tract. Using the experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) model to simulate noninfectious chronic orchitis, we successfully collected ejaculated seminal fluid from EAO rats using optimized electrical stimulation devices. Proteomic analysis was performed using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ). Compared to the control group, 55 upregulated and 105 downregulated proteins were identified in seminal plasma samples from the EAO group. In a preliminary screening, the inflammation-related protein S100A8/A9 was upregulated. We further verified that S100A8/A9 was increased in seminal plasma and highly expressed in testicular macrophages of the EAO model. In patients with oligoasthenospermia and genital tract infections, we also found that S100A8/A9 levels were remarkably increased in seminal plasma and testicular macrophages. S100A8/A9 in semen may be a potential biomarker for chronic genital inflammation. Our study provides a new potential biomarker for early diagnosis and further understanding of male infertility caused by genital inflammation.

3D Wood Microfilter for Fast and Efficient Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Water.

Adsorption is an effective method for the treatment of heavy metal ions in water; however, the existing adsorbents are complicated to prepare, and costly and difficult to recover. In this work, a 3D wood microfilter was prepared by modifying wood for the removal of heavy metal contaminants from water. First, a green deep eutectic solvent was used to remove lignin from beech wood. Then citric acid and l-cysteine were sequentially used to graft carboxyl and sulfhydryl groups (-SHs) on the surface of cellulose. Finally, a three-dimensional wood microfilter with an abundant porous structure and adsorption sites was formed. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms of heavy metal ions on the 3D wood microfilter were systematically investigated using Cu2+ and Cd2+ as model species. The results showed that the 3D wood microfilter had a fast adsorption rate and high saturation capacity for both Cu2+ and Cd2+. Based on the advantages of easy processing and multilayer assembly and stacking, a three-layer wood microfilter was designed to achieve high flux rate (1.53 × 103 L m-2 h-1) and high efficiency (>98%) for the removal of heavy metal ions in water. The enhancement mechanism of the adsorption process of Cu2+ and Cd2+ by the 3D wood microfilter was investigated using SEM and EDS, FTIR, and XPS characterization. The simple synthesis method and high adsorption efficiency of this wood microfilter provide a new strategy for the preparation of cheap, efficient, and recyclable adsorbents for heavy metal ions in water.

[Asthma management and asthma control level in children]. / å„¿ç«¥å“®å–˜ç®¡ç†ä¸Žå“®å–˜æŽ§åˆ¶æ°´å¹³çš„ä¸´åºŠç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influencing factors for asthma management and asthma control level in children. METHODS: A total of 202 children with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma were enrolled. The questionnaire of asthma control level and family management was used to investigate the influencing factors for asthma control level and the indicators of family management. The awareness of childhood asthma and its management was analyzed among the parents, as well as the influence on asthma control level in children, and the association between them was analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the non-complete control group, the complete control group had significantly longer course of asthma and treatment time (P<0.05). The proportions of asthma attacks ≥3 times and aerosol treatment for asthma attacks >3 times in one year in the complete control group were significantly lower than those in the non-complete control group (P<0.05). The complete control group had a significantly lower proportion of children with frequent respiratory infection, wheezing during respiratory infection, or a family history of allergic diseases (P<0.05). The parents in the complete control group had significantly stronger awareness of short-term escalation to asthma medication after respiratory infection and significantly enhanced management of maintenance medication (P<0.05). Compared with the complete control group, the non-complete control group had a significantly higher proportion of children with abnormal pulmonary function at the initial stage (P<0.05). The level of asthma control in children was associated with short-term escalation to asthma medication during respiratory infection and initial lung function (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The level of asthma control in children is closely associated with the severity of asthma and the comprehensive management of childhood asthma. Early treatment and family management, especially escalation to asthma medication during the early stage of respiratory infection, are of great importance in asthma control. Citation:Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 2023, 25(1): 73-79.

Effect of switching from treatment with nucleos(t)ide analogs to pegylated interferon α-2a on virological and serological responses in chronic hepatitis B patients.

AIM: To investigate the efficacy of switching to pegylated interferon-α-2a (PegIFNα-2a) treatment in nucleos(t)ide analog (NA)-treated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) responder patients. METHODS: A 48-wk prospective and retrospective treatment trial of NA-treated CHB patients who had received entecavir (ETV) for at least 48 wk and had serum hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA < 500 IU/mL, serum hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) < 100 S/CO, serum alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase levels < 2 × the upper limit of normal of 40 IU/L was performed. The effects on virological and serological responses and adverse reactions to 0.5 mg daily ETV for 48 wk vs switching to PegIFNα-2a were compared. Forty-four patients were randomized to be switched from NA treatment to the PegIFNα-2a group, and 44 patients were simultaneously randomized to the ETV group. RESULTS: After 48 wk of therapy, the decrease in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels was greater in the PegIFNα-2a group than in the ETV group (3.1340 log10 IU/mL vs 3.6950 log10 IU/mL, P = 0.00). Seven patients who were anti-HBs-positive at baseline achieved HBsAg loss when switched to PegIFNα-2a (15.91% vs 0%, P = 0.018). The HBeAg serological conversion rate was higher in the PegIFNα-2a group than in the ETV group; however, the difference was not significant because of the small sample sizes (34.38% vs 21.88%, P = 0.232). In the PegIFNα-2a group, patients with HBsAg levels < 1500 IU/mL at baseline had higher HBeAg seroconversion and HBsAg loss rates at week 48 than those with HBsAg levels ≥ 1500 IU/mL (HBeAg seroconversion: 17.86% vs 62.5%, P = 0.007; HBsAg loss: 41.67% vs 6.25%, P = 0.016). Moreover, patients with HBsAg levels < 1500 IU/mL at week 24 had higher HBsAg loss rates after therapy than those with HBsAg levels ≥ 1500 IU/mL (36.84% vs 0%, P = 0.004). However, there were no statistically significant differences in HBeAg seroconversion rates (47.06% vs 25.93%, P = 0.266). CONCLUSION: NA-treated CHB patients switched to sequential PegIFNα-2a achieved highly potent treatment termination safely.

In vitro characterization and inhibition of the interaction between ciprofloxacin and berberine against multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Ciprofloxacin is a quinolone antibiotic used to treat Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in the clinic. Previous studies have demonstrated that berberine exhibits antibacterial activity and less acquired resistance related to efflux pumps. The multidrug efflux pump acrAB-tolC can be stimulated to expel as much toxic material as possible from the cells, but a detrimental effect can be produced owing to an overcrowded periplasm with excess expression products, which inhibits bacterial growth. In this study, the in vitro antibacterial activities of ciprofloxacin in combination with berberine were evaluated and compared with those of ciprofloxacin and berberine alone by evaluating the MIC, MBC and summation fractional IC against 20 clinical multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates, 1 quality control bacterium and 1 induced-resistance bacterium. Susceptibility tests showed that the MIC for the combination of berberine and ciprofloxacin was 1/2 that of the individual agents or less. Antimicrobial activities of 18.18% synergy and 77.27% additivity were found. Furthermore, synergism was verified through a time-kill assay, which suggested that the synergistic antibacterial effect of the two-drug combination may, to some extent, be related to the high expression of the acrAB-tolC and acrR multidrug efflux pumps. Indeed, the expression of these genes was increased >14-fold in the isolates affected by ciprofloxacin-berberine combination synergism.