[Effects of urogenital mycoplasma and chlamydial infections on male fertility].

Objective： This study aimed to assess the impact of urogenital ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu), Mycoplasma hominis (Mh), and Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) infections on semen quality in men.Methods： In this study, 1022 males were enrolled at the Department of Reproductive Medicine, Rizhao People's Hospital, Shandong Province from October 2014 to January 2023. The participants included 393 in the infertility group, 139 in the recurrent miscarriage group, and 490 in the control group. Based on age, 852 cases were < 36 years old, and 170 cases were ≥ 36 years old. All patients underwent routine semen analysis and tests for Uu, Mh, and Ct, with results statistically analyzed for their impact on semen quality and compared among different age groups. Results: Among the 1022 patients, 344 (33.6%) were Uu-positive, 49 (4.7%) were Mh-positive, and 31 (3.0%) were Ct positive. The sperm concentration, total sperm count, forward sperm motility rate (PR), sperm motility rate (PR+NP) and normal sperm morphology rate of Uu Mh and/or Ct-positive patients were significantly lower than those of the negative group, and the overall difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The positive rate of Uu infection was 41.7% in the infertility group, 30.2% in the recurrent miscarriage group and 28.2% in the control group, and the overall positive rate of the three groups was statistically significant(P<0.05). The positive rate of Mh infection was 6.9% in the infertility group, 8.6% in the recurrent miscarriage group and 2.0% in the control group, and the overall positive rate of the three groups was statistically significant (P<0.001). The positive rate of Ct infection was 6.1% in the infertility group, 2.9% in the recurrent miscarriage group and 0.6% in the control group, and the overall positive rate of the three groups was statistically significant (P<0.001). The positivity rate of Uu infection was 35.8% at the age of <36 years and 22.9% at the age ≥ 36 years, and there was a statistically significant difference in the positivity rate between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of Uu infection in the male urogenital tract is significantly higher than that of Mh and Ct, which is the main pathogen of urogenital tract infection in men. Uu, Mh and Ct infections have adverse effects on sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm forward motility rate (PR), sperm motility rate (PR+NP) and normal sperm morphology rate, which will lead to a decrease in semen quality and affect male fertility. Genital tract infections are closely related to age, and the prevalence of Uu infection is higher in the younger age group.

Fabrication of hydroxyapatite/hydrophilic graphene composites and their modulation to cell behavior toward bone reconstruction engineering.

Cell adhesion was the first step of bone reconstruction. While hydroxyapatite (HA)/graphene composites had been utilized for improving the cell adhesion and bone osteogenesis, the impact of cell adhesion and HA/graphene composites, especially HA/hydrophilic graphene (HG) composites, on internal interaction force and external surface properties remained poorly understood. Here, higher stability HA/HG composites were synthesized without extra ion introduction with in situ self-assembling method. And with XRD, FT-IR, XPS and Raman analyses, the evidences of the formation of HA and the introduction of HG was clear. TEM and SEM images showed the net-like spatial structure due to the internal interaction force between HA and HG, which provided the strain stimulation for cell adhesion. Subsequently, the external surface properties of HA/HG composites demonstrated that the roughness and hydrophilic ability of HA/HG composites could be artificially regulated by increasing the content of HG. Besides, the cell proliferation rate of HA/HG composites had been investigated. Compared to the intrinsic HA, HA/5%HG possessed the higher cell proliferation rate (264.81%) and promoted the spreading and growth of MC3T3-E1 cells. Finally, the regulation mechanism between HA/HG and cell adhesion were illuminated in detail. The excellent regular behavior of HA/HG composites for cell adhesion made them promising candidates for bone reconstruction and repairing. The present work provided the reference for the design of modifiable biomaterials and offered much inspiration for the future research of bone reconstruction engineering.

An Intron Variant of SLC2A9 Increases the Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Complicated with Hyperuricemia in Chinese Male Population.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the associations of haplotypes of the glucose transporter 9 (SLC2A9) genes with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) complicated with hyperuricemia (HUA). METHODS: Overall, 608 Chinese males, enrolled from the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Qingdao University in 2009-2012, were genotyped. The subjects included 167 withT2DM (average age of onset (58.07±11.82 yr), 198 with HUA subjects (average age of onset (39.20±9.73) yr), 115 with T2DM complicated with HUA (average age of onset (51.24±10.09) yr), and 128 control subjects (average age (41.92±10.01) yr). Patients genotypes of the SNPs; including rs734553 was determined by PCR method. Each genotype was regressed assuming the co-dominant, dominant and the recessive models of inheritance with covariates of duration of total glucose, uric acid, urea nitrogen, triglyceride, cholesterol, and creatinine levels. RESULTS: Chi-square test revealed that rs734553polymorphism was both significantly associated with HUA as well as T2DM complicated HUA, but not with pure T2DM. After adjustment for age and gender, analysis showed that people with C allele had higher risk of HUA and T2DM complicated HUA than those without C allele. And none of the subjects had the homozygous genotype for SLC2A9 (CC). CONCLUSION: The SLC2A9 mutation increases the risk for T2DM complicated HUA in Chinese population, which suggested that intron variants between two relatively conserved exons could also be associated with diseases. In patients of T2DM complicated with HUA, the diagnosis and detection of SLC2A9 gene variants should be caused enough attention.

Study on the diversity of Bacteroides and Clostridium in patients with primary gout.

To analyze the diversity of both Bacteroides and Clostridium in patients with primary gout and the difference from that of normal individuals. And to investigate the relationship between the primary gout and the intestinal flora. Fecal samples of 90 cases with the primary gout and 94 cases normal comparison group were selected, together with the cases that match the filter criteria. The DNA is extracted from the feces. 16S rRNA specific primers of both Bacteroides and Clostridium were adopted for the PCR amplification. The molecular fingerprints of Bacteroides and Clostridium in both the primary gout group and the normal control group were obtained through DGGE and subjected for further analysis on both the diversity and the similarity. Compared with normal individuals, the number of bands and Shannon-Weaver (H') of Bacteroides in patients with primary gout was not reduced, but significantly decreased in Clostridium. Furthermore, the intra-group and inter-group similarity of both Bacteroides and Clostridium were lower. The primary gout has caused the structural change of both Bacteroides and Clostridium, inducing the low similarity, especially for Clostridium. It has statistic significance. The gut predominant flora may play an important role in the development of primary gout.

Association of an Exon SNP of SLC2A9 Gene with Hyperuricemia Complicated with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in the Chinese Male Han Population.

Several recent genome-wide association studies and following studies have identified that genetic variants of SLC2A9 are associated with hyperuricemia (HUA) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Here, we set to investigate whether the exon 9 of SLC2A9 gene variations is associated with HUA complicated with Type 2 DM (T2DM) in the Chinese male Han population. The present study was designed to study rs2280205 polymorphism in exon 9 of SLC2A9 in 232 Chinese male subjects. Rs2280205 locus was genotyped in 52 T2DM subjects, 65 HUA subjects, 55 subjects with HUA complicated with T2DM, as well as 60 control subjects in this study. DNA from peripheral blood was purified and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were then digested by restriction enzyme MSPI, and part of PCR products was sequenced and analyzed. There was no significant difference in the levels of cholesterol, creatinine, and urea nitrogen between the Control Group and the HUA group. There was also no significant difference in levels of cholesterol between the DM group and Control Group. No significant difference in cholesterol and uric acid was observed between the HUA group and the HUA accompanied with DM group (P > 0.05). However, there was no statistical significance in the genotype frequency in these groups (P > 0.01). Results of the present study suggest that the exon 9 of SLC2A9 gene 109C/T polymorphism is not associated with HUA and diabetes in population living in the coastal area of Shandong province, China.

Fluorescein-labeled "arch-like" DNA probes for electrochemical detection of DNA on gold nanoparticle-modified gold electrodes.

In the present study, a gold nanoparticle-modified gold electrode (nanogold electrode) was used to develop a novel fluorescein electrochemical DNA biosensor based on a target-induced conformational change. The nanogold electrode was obtained by electrodepositing gold nanoparticles onto a bare gold electrode. This modification not only immobilized probe oligonucleotides, but also adsorbed fluorescein onto the surface of the gold nanoparticles to form an "arch-like" structure. This article compares the electrochemical signal changes caused by the hybridization of "arch-like" DNA on nanogold electrode and linear DNA on bare gold electrode. The results showed that the adsorption effect of nanogold can enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. The linear range of target ssDNA is from 2.0 × 10(-9)M to 2.0 × 10(-8)M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9956 and detection limit (3σ) of 7.10 × 10(-10)M. Additionally, the specificity and hybridization response of this simple sensor were investigated.

The characteristics of expansins in wheat coleoptiles and their responses to water stress.

As the key regulators of cell wall extension during plant growth, expansins play an important role in regulating the development and response of plants to adverse environment. The characteristics of expansins in wheat coleoptiles and their responses to water stress were studied. Expansin proteins were extracted from wheat coleoptiles by the methods of Hepes or SDS. The activities of expansins were measured with an improved extensometer and the amount of expansins was measured by immunoblot analysis with the expansin antibody. The results showed that in coleoptiles, the extension of native cell walls depended on acidic pH, and the expansins were found to be located at cell walls by location analysis. Expansins from wheat coleoptiles could induce cell wall extension both of cucumber hypocotyls and coleoptiles, and vice versa, albeit with differences noted in extension activity. The changes in activity and abundance of expansins in wheat coleoptiles in response to water stress suggest that expansins may play a significant role in the tolerance of wheat plants to water stress.