Enteric Pathologic Manifestations of Alpha-Synucleinopathies.

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are common in Parkinson disease (PD), often preceding neurological manifestations; however, early diagnostic utility of GI biopsies remains controversial. Studies suggest aberrant deposition of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) follows step-wise progression in central nervous system though histologic interpretation of normal and aberrant staining patterns have shown variable results. This study examines whether GI α-syn mRNA expression combined with standard α-syn immunohistochemical staining enhance the role of GI biopsy in PD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four groups were examined, including pediatric (21) and adult control patients (18), PD clinic patients (17), and pathologically confirmed PD cases from hospital archives (16). Enteric nervous system α-syn staining was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 33 PD and 39 controls. α-Syn mRNA levels were compared between patient groups using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and stomach and colon levels in PD. RESULTS: PD patients had Lewy bodies (LB) and diffuse neuronal α-syn staining. GI tissues from elderly controls, children, and young adults exhibited diffuse positivity. LB were limited to PD. Myenteric plexus immunoreactivity varied in different regions. Widespread staining was noted within stomach and colon. Immunoreactivity was present within esophagus, appendix, and small bowel. α-Syn mRNA expression was highest in PD; however, levels varied between proximal and distal GI tract. CONCLUSIONS: α-Syn is normally present within young and elderly enteric nervous system; furthermore, while α-syn mRNA is always detectable, levels are highest and most variable in PD. This suggests that enteric α-syn may be altered in neurodegenerative disease. The presence of LB in the GI tract, not solely α-syn expression, may prove useful, distinguishing neurodegenerative disease patients from normal controls.

Periodic DFT study of structural transformations of cocrystal NTO/TZTN under high pressure.

Density functional theory (DFT) periodic calculations were performed to study the geometrical and electronic structures of energetic cocrystal NTO/TZTN under pressures ranging from 0 to 80 GPa. The optimized crystal structure by the GGA/PW91 (Perdew-Wang-91) and dispersion corrections corresponds well with the experimental values under ambient pressure. With the pressure increasing, the lattice constants, unit cell volumes, interatomic distances, H-bond energies, atomic charges, and bond populations of cocrystal NTO/TZTN change gradually. At pressures of 4, 8, and 23 GPa, three structural transformations occurred, shown by the results. The cyclization plays an important role in stabilizing the systems. The increasing pressure contributes to the increase of interaction force gradually. At 4 GPa, a new hydrogen bond O3⋯H5 is formed. At 8 GPa, the formation of eight membered rings is because of the existence of a covalent bond O1-H3 between two NTO molecules. In addition, a covalent interaction is formed between N2 and H4 atoms with the biggest H-bond energy compared to the others. As the pressure reaches 23 GPa, another new hydrogen bond forms between N8 and H5 atoms, which contributes to the formation of a five membered ring between NTO and TZTN. The electrons can move freely according to the results of the density of states between the valence and conduction bands when the pressure is high. This work will provide useful information in understanding the high-pressure effect on the structural transformation.

[Rectifications to "Qianqingtangshumu. Yijialei" (Bibliography of Qianqingtang. Category of physicians)].

"Qianqingtangshumu" (Bibliography of Qianqingtang), compiled by HUANG Yu-ji, the extensively collected works of the Ming dynasty, which included works not recorded in the Mingshi (History of the Ming dynasty) and other biographies. It was an important reference book to study the history of the Ming dynasty and the versions of ancient books, especially being the best evidence of textual research on the works of the Ming dynasty. However, there are many mistakes in the recording of medical works of the Ming dynasty, among which are sixteen title mistakes, twenty-two authors' mistakes and two instances of both title and authors' mistakes.

[Distribution patterns of heavy metals in surface sediments of the Yangtze estuary and its adjacent areas and environmental quality assessment].

The concentrations of six heavy metals were determined in the fine fraction ( < 63 microm) of surface sediments in the Yangtze Estuary and its adjacent areas by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The average contents of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn are 10.47, 0.19, 37.68, 36.86, 97.80 and 98.65 mg x kg(-1), respectively. The contents of As, Cd and Cu appear gradually degressive from west to east, while the contents of Pb, Cr and Zn appear no apparent difference. In generally, the concentrations of heavy metals are higher in the south sea areas than those in the north sea areas. Environmental assessment with single factor method suggests that As, Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn are moderately contaminated, while Cd is not polluted. The values of As,Cu and Cr are between effect range-low (ERL) and effect range-median (ERM), which indicate they occasionally bring adverse biological effect at most stations, and the values of Cd,Pb and Zn are below ERL mean they rarely bring adverse biological effect by sediment quality guidelines assessment. From the results of factor analysis and cluster analysis, we conclude that the outer sea areas of the Yangtze Estuary and the Hangzhou Bay have lower sediment environmental quality, therefore much attention should be paid to these areas.

Identification of a novel protein, LYRIC, localized to tight junctions of polarized epithelial cells.

Tight junctions (TJ) are multiprotein complexes that function to regulate paracellular transport of molecules through epithelial and endothelial cell layers. Many new tight junction-associated proteins have been identified in the past few years, and their functional roles and interactions have just begun to be elucidated. In this paper, we describe a novel protein LYsine-RIch CEACAM1 co-isolated (LYRIC) that is widely expressed and highly conserved between species. LYRIC has no conserved domains that would indicate function and does not appear to be a member of a larger protein family. Data from analysis of rat and human tissue sections and cell lines show that LYRIC colocalizes with tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin in polarized epithelial cells, suggesting that LYRIC is part of the tight junction complex. LYRIC dissociates from ZO-1 when junctional complexes are disrupted, and as tight junctions reform, ZO-1 relocalizes before LYRIC. These results suggest that LYRIC is most likely not a structural component required for TJ formation, but rather is recruited during the maturation of the tight junction complex.