Serological investigation of IgG and IgE antibodies against food antigens in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: Food antigens have been shown to participate in the etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but their clinical value in IBD is still unclear. AIM: To analyze the levels of specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and E (IgE) antibodies against food antigens in IBD patients and to determine their clinical value in the pathogenesis of IBD. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study based on patients who visited the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between August 2016 and January 2018. A total of 137 IBD patients, including 40 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 97 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 50 healthy controls (HCs), were recruited. Serum food-specific IgG antibodies were detected by semi-quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and serum food-specific IgE antibodies were measured by Western blot. The value of food-specific IgG antibodies was compared among different groups, and potent factors related to these antibodies were explored by binary logistic regression. RESULTS: Food-specific IgG antibodies were detected in 57.5% of UC patients, in 90.72% of CD patients and in 42% of HCs. A significantly high prevalence and titer of food-specific IgG antibodies were observed in CD patients compared to UC patients and HCs. The number of IgG-positive foods was greater in CD and UC patients than in HCs (CD vs HCs, P = 0.000; UC vs HCs, P = 0.029). The top five food antigens that caused positive specific IgG antibodies in CD patients were tomato (80.68%), corn (69.32%), egg (63.64%), rice (61.36%), and soybean (46.59%). The foods that caused positive specific IgG antibodies in UC patients were egg (60.87%), corn (47.83%), tomato (47.83%), rice (26.09%), and soybean (21.74%). Significantly higher levels of total food-specific IgG were detected in IBD patients treated with anti-TNFα therapy compared to patients receiving steroids and immunosuppressants (anti-TNFα vs steroids, P = 0.000; anti-TNFα vs immunosuppressants, P = 0.000; anti-TNFα vs steroids + immunosuppressants, P = 0.003). A decrease in food-specific IgG levels was detected in IBD patients after receiving anti-TNFα therapy (P = 0.007). Patients who smoked and CD patients were prone to developing serum food-specific IgG antibodies [Smoke: OR (95%CI): 17.6 (1.91-162.26), P = 0.011; CD patients: OR (95%CI): 12.48 (3.45-45.09), P = 0.000]. There was no difference in the prevalence of food-specific IgE antibodies among CD patients (57.1%), UC patients (65.2%) and HCs (60%) (P = 0.831). CONCLUSION: CD patients have a higher prevalence of food-specific IgG antibodies than UC patients and HCs. IBD patients are prone to rice, corn, tomato and soybean intolerance. Smoking may be a risk factor in the occurrence of food-specific IgG antibodies. Food-specific IgG antibodies may be a potential method in the diagnosis and management of food intolerance in IBD.

[Preliminary exploration on submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection for middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER) in the treatment of middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors (SMT) originating from muscularis propria (MP) layer. METHODS: A total number of 33 esophagus submucosal tumor (SMT) originating from MP layer underwent tumor resection by STER after endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and CT examination at Endoscopy Center, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University from March 2012 to March 2013. There were 17 males and 16 females with an age range of (50 ± 10) years. Their lesion size, lesion origin, pathology, operative duration and complication rate were analyzed. RESULTS: Among them, the origins were of submucosal (n = 4, 12.1%), superficial muscularis propria layer (SMP) (n = 18, 54.6%), deep muscularis layer (DMP) (n = 10, 30.3%) and serosa (n = 1, 3.0%). There were single tumor (n = 30, 90.9%), double tumors (n = 2, 6.1%) and triple tumors (n = 1, 3.0%). Except for 1 case of non-resected hemangioma, 36 operative specimens were examined pathologically, including 30 leiomyomas tumors (83.3%), 5 stromal tumors (GIST) (13.9%) and 1 lipoma tumor (2.8%). Thirty-two lesions were successfully resected by STER with a complete resection rate of 97.0%. Average lesion size was (1.7 ± 1.0) cm and average operative duration (49 ± 26) min. A number of (7.8 ± 2.5) hemostatic clips were used to close the mucosal incision site. Subcutaneous emphysema occurred in 3 patients (9.1%) while puncture and pneumothorax developed in one case (3.0%). All of them recovered uneventfully through conservative treatments. CONCLUSIONS: As a new safe, efficacious and feasible treatment for middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors, STER may completely resect SMT and provide accurate histopathological evaluations. And it is feasible to regain the mucosal integrity of GI tract and prevent the occurrences of leakage and secondary infections.

Differential expression of miR-195 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and miR-195 expression inhibits tumor cell proliferation and invasion by targeting of Cdc42.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) have played an important role in carcinogenesis. In this study, Agilent miRNA microarray was used to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues and miR-195 was downregulated in ESCC compared with normal esophageal tissues. Moreover, Cdc42 was confirmed as target gene of miR-195. Ectopic expression of miR-195 in ESCC cells significantly downregulated Cdc42 by directly binding its 3' untranslated regions, and induced G1 cell cycle arrest, leading to a significant decrease in cell growth, migration, and invasion in vitro. Therefore, our findings demonstrated that miR-195 may act as a tumor suppressor in ESCC by targeting Cdc42.

Endoscopic nasojejunal feeding tube placement in patients with severe hepatopancreatobiliary diseases: a retrospective study of 184 patients.

BACKGROUND: Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) has been recognized as the mainstay of nutritional support in patients with severe hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) diseases for decades. However, recent studies advocate the utilization of endoscopic nasojejunal feeding tube placement (ENFTP), rather than the conventional approach. This study was designed to compare the clinical value of ENFTP and TPN in patients with severe HPB diseases. METHODS: Two groups of patients with severe HPB diseases were analyzed retrospectively. One group of 88 patients received ENFTP, and the other 96 received TPN. Routine blood levels, serum glucose and prealbumin, hepatic and renal function, serum lipid, and calcium were measured at baseline and after 1, 2, and 4 weeks of nutritional support. Also, complication rate, mortality, nutritional support time, mechanical ventilation time, mean length of time in intensive care unit, and duration of hospital stay were analyzed. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of nutritional support, the degree of recovery of red blood cells, prealbumin, and blood glucose was greater in the ENFTP than in the TPN group (P<0.05). Furthermore, the ENFTP group showed a lower incidence of septicemia, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, peri-pancreatic infection, biliary infection, and nosocomial infection, in addition to shorter nutritional support time and hospital stay (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ENFTP is much more effective than TPN in assisting patients with severe HPB diseases to recover from anemia, low prealbumin level, and high serum glucose, as well as in decreasing the rates of various infections (pulmonary infection excluded), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome rate, nutrition support time, and length of hospital stay. Therefore, ENFTP is safer and more economical for clinical application.

FAT10 level in human gastric cancer and its relation with mutant p53 level, lymph node metastasis and TNM staging.

AIM: To investigate the role of FAT10 and mutant p53 in the pathogenesis, severity and prognosis of gastric cancer. METHODS: FAT10, mutant p53 mRNA and protein levels were measured by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and immunohistochemistry in gastric cancer tissue (n = 62), tumor-adjacent tissue (n = 62) and normal gastric tissue (n = 62). Relation of FAT10 and mutant p53 expression with clinicopathological features and clinical outcomes of gastric cancer patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The FAT10, mutant p53 mRNA and protein levels were significantly higher in gastric cancer than in its adjacent and normal tissue. The FAT10 and mutant p53 levels in gastric cancer tissue were significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis and tumor, nodes, metastasis (TNM) staging. Moreover, the high FAT10 level was associated with the overall survival rate of patients. Multivariate Cox-proportional hazards model analysis showed that mRNA and protein levels of FAT10 and mutant p53, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and TNM stage were the independent prognostic factors for gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: FAT10 may be involved in gastric carcinogenesis, and is a potential marker for the prognosis of gastric cancer patients. FAT10 and mutant p53 may play a common role in the carcinogenesis of gastric cancer.