Investigation on prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infections in wild mice in Shitai County, Anhui Province, 2018 / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To investigate the prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infection in wild mice in Shitai County, Anhui Province, so as to provide insights into precise control of the source of S. japonicum infections. Methods Wild mice were captured using the trapping method for three successive nights at snail-infested settings from Jitan Village of Jitan Township, and Shiquan Village and Xibai Village of Dingxiang Township, Shitai County, Anhui Province in June and October, 2018. All trapped wild mice were sacrificed and liver and mesenteric vein specimens were collected for detection of S. japonicum eggs using microscopy, while the fecal samples in mouse intestines were collected for identification of S. japonicum infections using Kato-Katz technique. In addition, the population density of trapped wild mice was estimated and the prevalence of S. japonicum infection was calculated in trapped wild mice. Results A total of 376 wild mice were trapped from three villages in Shitai County. The population density of trapped wild mice was 9.1% (376/4 124), and the prevalence of S. japonicum infection was 24.2% (91/376) in trapped wild mice. The highest prevalence of S. japonicum infection was detected in Shiquan Village of Dingxiang Township (30.1%), and the lowest prevalence was seen in Xibai Village of Dingxiang Township; however, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of S. japonicum infection in trapped wild mice among three villages (χ2= 4.111, P > 0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of S. japonicum infection in wild mice captured between on June (26.8%, 34/127) and October (22.9%, 57/249) (χ2 = 0.690, P = 0.406). The trapped wild mice included 6 species, including Rattus norvegicus, Niviventer niviventer, R. losea, Apodemus agrarius, Mus musculus and N. coning, and the two highest prevalence of S. japonicum infection was detected in R. losea (34.9%, 22/63) and R. norvegicus (31.2%, 44/141). Conclusions The prevalence of S. japonicum infections is high in wild mice in Shitai County, and there is a natural focus of schistosomiasis transmission in Shitai County.

Endemic situation of schistosomiasis in national surveillance sites of Anhui Province from 2015 to 2018 / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To analyze the endemic situation of schistosomiasis in national surveillance sites of Anhui Province from 2015 to 2018, so as to provide scientific evidence for schistosomiasis control and prevention in Anhui Province. Methods According to the National Schistosomiasis Surveillance Programme (2014 version), a total of 51 national schistosomiasis surveillance sites were assigned in Anhui Province in 2015, and Schistosoma japonicum infections in humans and livestock and snail distribution were monitored from 2015 to 2018. Results A total of 89 638 local residents and 42 609 mobile populations received serological screening of schistosomiasis in 51 national surveillance sites of Anhui Province from 2015 to 2018, and the sero-prevalence of S. japonicum infections was 1.41% to 3.69% in local residents and 0.84% to 2.13% in mobile populations, respectively. There were 5 egg-positive local residents and 1 egg-positive mobile populations detected in 2015, with occupations of farmers and fishermen. There were 6 405 livestock detected for S. japonicum infections, and no egg-positives were identified. Among an area of 12 661 hm2 surveyed in the national schistosomiasis surveillance sites of Anhui Province from 2015 to 2018, the areas of snail habitats were 2 461.27 to 2 628.96 hm2, andthemeandensityoflivingsnailswas 0.3757 to 0.4330 snails/0.1 m2, with no S. japonicum infections identified in snails. Conclusions The endemic situation of schistosomiasis is at a low level in Anhui Province; however, the risk of schistosomiasis transmission remains in local regions of the province. The construction of the surveillance-responsesystemshouldbereinforcedtoconsolidatetheachievementsofschistosomiasis control in Anhui Province.

PBF, a Proto-oncogene in Esophageal Carcinoma.

Emerging evidence shows that the pituitary tumour-transforming gene (PTTG)-binding factor (PBF) functions as a proto-oncogene in some tumors. However, the precise functions of PBF in tumorigenesis and its action mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here for the first time we demonstrated that PBF was associated with a tumor-related cell phenotype in esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) and identified the involved signaling pathways. PBF was up-regulated in ESCA tissues (Data from GEPIA) and cells. Then we down-regulated PBF in ESCA cell lines, Eca-109 and TE-1, by using RNAi technology. Cell function analysis suggested that down-regulation of PBF could inhibit tumor-related cell phenotypes, including proliferation, motility, apoptosis and cell cycle, in Eca-109 and TE-1 cells. Mechanism investigation suggested that apoptosis induced by PBF knockdown may be mediated by the activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and cell cycle arrest. AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/ß-catenin, key pathways in regulating tumor proliferation and metastasis, were found to be inactivated by the down-regulation of PBF in ESCA cells. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that PBF functions as a proto-oncogene in ESCA in vitro, which may be mediated through AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/ß-catenin pathways.

High expression of DLC family proteins predicts better prognosis and inhibits tumor progression in NSCLC.

The incidence of primary lung cancer (PLC) is increasing and is becoming a leading cause of cancer­associated mortality worldwide. Non­small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for ~80% of PLC cases and has the worst prognosis among malignant tumors. Deleted in liver cancer (DLC) proteins belong to the RhoGTPase­activating protein family and are considered to be tumor suppressor genes. However, the role of the proteins, particularly DLC2 and DLC3, in NSCLC, has not been fully elucidated. The present study investigated the expression levels and prognostic values of DLCs in NSCLC using The Cancer Genome Atlas, the Genotype­Tissue Expression project and Kaplan­Meier plotter datasets. The current study demonstrated that the three DLCs were downregulated in NSCLC. High expression levels of DLC1 and DLC2 were associated with an improved survival in NSCLC. Additionally, the effects of DLCs on the proliferation and apoptosis of the lung cancer cell line A­549 were investigated in vitro using a Cell Counting Kit­8 assay and flow cytometry analysis. DLC2 and DLC3 overexpression inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in A549 cells. To the best of our knowledge, the current study was the first to investigate the expression level and prognostic values of DLC2 and DLC3 in NSCLC. The results indicated that DLC1 DLC2 and DLC3 serve specific roles in the occurrence and development of NSCLC, and may be considered as potential prognostic indicators in NSCLC.