The Difference of Gut Microbiota and Their Correlations With Urinary Organic Acids Between Autistic Children With and Without Atopic Dermatitis.

Autism is a kind of biologically based neurodevelopmental condition, and the coexistence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is not uncommon. Given that the gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of both diseases, we aimed to explore the differences of gut microbiota and their correlations with urinary organic acids between autistic children with and without AD. We enrolled 61 autistic children including 36 with AD and 25 without AD. The gut microbiota was sequenced by metagenomic shotgun sequencing, and the diversity, compositions, and functional pathways were analyzed further. Urinary organic acids were assayed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and univariate/multivariate analyses were applied. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to explore their relationships. In our study, AD individuals had more prominent gastrointestinal disorders. The alpha diversity of the gut microbiota was lower in the AD group. LEfSe analysis showed a higher abundance of Anaerostipes caccae, Eubacterium hallii, and Bifidobacterium bifidum in AD individuals, with Akkermansia muciniphila, Roseburia intestinalis, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, and Rothia mucilaginosa in controls. Meanwhile, functional profiles showed that the pathway of lipid metabolism had a higher proportion in the AD group, and the pathway of xenobiotics biodegradation was abundant in controls. Among urinary organic acids, adipic acid, 3-hydroxyglutaric acid, tartaric acid, homovanillic acid, 2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, aconitic acid, and 2-hydroxyhippuric acid were richer in the AD group. However, only adipic acid remained significant in the multivariate analysis (OR = 1.513, 95% CI [1.042, 2.198], P = 0.030). In the correlation analysis, Roseburia intestinalis had a negative correlation with aconitic acid (r = -0.14, P = 0.02), and the latter was positively correlated with adipic acid (r = 0.41, P = 0.006). Besides, the pathway of xenobiotics biodegradation seems to inversely correlate with adipic acid (r = -0.42, P = 0.18). The gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of AD in autistic children, and more well-designed studies are warranted to explore the underlying mechanism.

[The effects of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors on peritoneal lymphangiogenesis and peritoneal function in uremic rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor on peritoneal lymphangiogenesis and peritoneum function in uremic rat. METHODS: Uremic rats treated by peritoneal dialysis were intragastric administration celecoxib.Structures of peritoneum, peritoneal function, peritoneal lymphatic vessel density (LVD) were detected in every group. The mRNA of vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1(LYVE-1) and COX-2 were tested by RT-PCR. The protein expressions of LYVE-1,VEGF-C, COX-2 were tested by western blot. RESULTS: With the extension of the duration of dialysis, the peritoneum thickness was increasing, inflammatory cell infiltrated obviously, ultrafiltration volume decreased significantly. But the celecoxib could increase ultrafiltration volume and reduce the glucose transport rate (P < 0.05) . Compared with the normal group, the levels of LVD, COX-2,VEGF-C, and LYVE-1 mRNA and protein were significantly up-regulated in uremic and dialysis groups (P < 0.05). Compared with the uremic dialysis group, the levels of LVD, COX-2,VEGF-C and LYVE-1 mRNA and protein were significantly down-regulated in the celecoxib group. There was a positive correlation between COX-2 and VEGF-C, LVD in protein levels, as well as VEGF-C and LVD(all P values<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Hyper glucose dialysis solution and uremic condition could up-regulate the expression of COX-2,VEGF-C, LYVE-1 in gene and protein level and stimulate lymphangiogenesis. COX-2 inhibitor could delay the change of peritoneal structures and function. COX-2 inhibitor could prevent the lymphangiogenesis in uremic rat treated by peritoneal dialysis, which might down-regulate the expression of VEGF-C by COX-2 depended manner.

Expression of CCL20 and CXCR4 in epidermal condyloma acuminatum lesions / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect CCL20 and CXCR4 expressions in epidermis infected with condyloma acuminatum (CA) and normal epidermis and investigate the effect of their expressions on Langerhans cells in CA epidermis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Gene expression of CCL20 and CXCR4 in 3 epidermal CA lesions and in 3 normal epidermis specimens were detected using Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarrays HG-U 133A 2.0, and the protein levels of CCL20 and CXCR4 in these specimens were measured by Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Microarray analysis revealed markedly down-regulated mRNA expressions of CCL20 and CXCR4 in the 3 epidermal CA lesions as compared with those in the normal specimens. Western blot analysis showed that the protein expressions of CCL20 and CXCR4 in the CA lesions were significantly lower than those in normal epidermis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The protein and mRNA expressions of CCL20 and CXCR4 are markedly down-regulated in epidermal CA lesions, which may contribute to decreased number and backflow disturbance of Langerhans cells in these lesions.</p>