Effects of NCSTN Mutation on Hair Follicle Components in Mice.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)/acne inversa is an intractable skin disease that is characterized by destructive lesions - primarily on the flexural areas. Although its etiology is unknown, genetics is considered to be a factor of its pathology - mutations in γ-secretase genes have been identified in certain familial HS patients, and follicular occlusion is widely accepted as the primary cause of HS. But, no relationship between these mutations and the components of hair follicles has been reported. Thus, we examined changes in these components in mice with a mutation in NCSTN (a γ-secretase gene). METHODS: We generated C57BL/6 mice with an NCSTN mutation and examined their expression of hair cortex cytokeratin and trichohyalin by Western blot and immunohistochemistry, in addition to nicastrin, the product of NCSTN, and NICD compared with wild-type mice. The structure of hair follicles was analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: In mice with an NCSTN mutation, HS-like skin lesions appeared after age 6 months, the pathological manifestations of which were consistent with the features of human HS. The structure of hair follicles was abnormal in mice with an NCSTN mutation versus wild-type mice, and hair cortex cytokeratin, trichohyalin, nicastrin, and NICD were downregulated in these mice. CONCLUSIONS: This NCSTN mutant mouse model could be an improved model to study early lesion development aspects of human HS pathogenesis and could perhaps be a better alternative for evaluating early-acting and preventive therapeutics for HS experimentally before clinical trials in HS patients. NCSTN mutations disrupt the development of hair follicles, leading to abnormal hair follicle structures, perhaps resulting in the onset of HS.

Application of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Patients With Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia Following Kidney Transplantation: A Case Series.

Objective: To investigate the application effect of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) after kidney transplantation. Methods: This is a case series on 10 kidney transplant recipients with severe ARDS caused by PJP at the People's Hospital of Zhengzhou, who were enrolled as the case group. A total of 17 cases of PJP diagnosed with severe ARDS without ECMO were selected as the control group. The timing and mode of ECMO support and treatment complications were summarized. The primary aim of this study was mortality and secondary was imaging and complications. Results: The enrolled patients' oxygenation index before the start of ECMO ranged from 25 to 92, and the time from admission to the start of ECMO was 1-17 days, with an average of 5.56 days. In the case group, one patient died of hemorrhagic shock due to abdominal hemorrhage, but the other nine patients were successfully weaned from ECMO. Of these patients, one died due to sepsis following weaning. The survival rate in the case group was 80.0% (8/10), and the survival rate in the control group was 35.29% (6/17). The vein-vein ECMO support time in the nine successfully weaned patients in the case group ranged from 131 to 288 h, with an average of 215.5 h. Of the eight patients who survived, deterioration of renal function after transplantation occurred in two patients, but no fatal complications occurred. Conclusion: Overall, Patients with severe ARDS caused by postoperative PJP infection following kidney transplantation have a poor prognosis. The mortality was lower in patients who were treated with ECMO compared to standard care.

SOFA Score Can Effectively Predict the Incidence of Sepsis and 30-Day Mortality in Liver Transplant Patients: A Retrospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate the early predictive value for postoperative sepsis and 30-day mortality in liver transplant patients using sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA). METHODS: A total of 96 liver transplant patients were enrolled into this study from February 2015 to June 2018. The general information, biochemical findings, and postoperative 30-day mortality of these patients were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The SOFA scores, C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin (PCT) at postoperative day (POD) 3, 5, and 7 were significantly higher in the sepsis group than in the non-sepsis group, and the differences were statistically significant. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that SOFA scores at POD 1, 3, 5, and 7 had higher sensitivity and specificity in predicting the incidence of sepsis within 30 days. The difference in 30-day survival rate between patients with SOFA scores of > 5 and patients with SOFA scores of ≤ 5 at POD 1-7 was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: SOFA scores at POD 1-7 can effectively predict the incidence of sepsis and 30-day mortality in liver transplant patients on the basis of CRP and PCT.

Distribution and drug resistance profile of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus after orthopaedic surgery.

This paper is aimed to comprehend clinical distribution and drug-resistance situation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This study applied automatic microbe instrument Microscan W/A 96 for strain identification and drug susceptibility screening on the isolated strains. It was found that 312 MRSA strains were isolated in three years, which account for 58.1% of Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA were mainly focused in wound secretion, purulent sputum and prostatic fluid and a few of them were isolated from blood specimens; Endemic area distribution was mainly located in intensive care unit, neurosurgery, respiratory department, dermatology, orthopaedic burns and orthopaedics. MRSA strains showed high drug resistance of 82.37%~100% to most of the antibiotics including vancomycin, cotrimoxazole and rifampicin. Strain was 100% resistance towards ampicillin, amoxicillin/acid, cefalotin, cefazolin, tienam, benzylpenicillin, penicillin and tetracycline and 90% strains resisted clindamycin, cefotaxime, clarithromycin and gentamicin.

Elevated expression of NEDD9 is associated with metastatic activity in gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protein and mRNA expression of NEDD9 in gastric cancer (GC) tissues, adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues, and normal gastric mucosa tissues, and analyze its relationship with the pathological features and prognosis of GC. METHODS: Forty cases of GC tissues, 20 cases of adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues, and 40 cases of normal gastric mucous tissues were collected. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to examine the expression of NEDD9 protein in various tissues. Situ hybridization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were applied to detect the expression of NEDD9 mRNA in various tissues. The correlation of NEDD9 expression with invasion and metastasis of GC was analyzed. RESULTS: The protein expression level of NEDD9 was significantly higher in GC tissues than in adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues and normal gastric mucous tissues (P<0.05). The protein expression level of NEDD9 was positively related to the invasion depth of carcinoma and tumor lymph node metastasis (P<0.05), but unrelated to age, sex, tumor size, and clinical classification of cancer (P<0.05). The mRNA expression level of NEDD9 was also significantly higher in GC tissues than in adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues and normal gastric mucous tissues (P<0.05), and positively related with the tumor lymph node metastasis and invasion depth of carcinoma (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: NEDD9 is involved in the occurrence and development of GC, and it may be an important biological marker of GC metastasis and infiltration.