The regulation of simulated artificial oro-gastrointestinal transit stress on the adhesion of Lactobacillus plantarum S7.

BACKGROUND: Oro-gastrointestinal stress in the digestive tract is the main stress to which orally administered probiotics are exposed. The regulation of oro-gastrointestinal transit (OGT) stress on the adhesion and survival of probiotics under continuous exposure to simulated salivary-gastric juice-intestinal juice was researched in this study. RESULTS: Lactobacillus plantarum S7 had a higher survival rate after exposure to simulated OGT1 (containing 0.15% bile salt) stress and OGT2 (containing 0.30% bile salt) stress. The adhesion ability of L. plantarum S7 was significantly increased by OGT1 stress (P < 0.05) but was not changed significantly by OGT2 stress (P > 0.05), and this trend was also observed in terms of the thickness of the surface material of L. plantarum S7 cells. The expression of surface proteins of L. plantarum S7, such as the 30 S ribosomal proteins, mucus-binding protein and S-layer protein, was significantly downregulated by OGT stress (P < 0.05); meanwhile, the expression of moonlight proteins, such as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), phosphoglycorate kinase (PGK), beta-phosphoglucomutase (PGM1), GroEL and glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (PGI), was significantly upregulated (P < 0.05). However, the upregulation of GAPDH, PGK, PGM1 and PGI mediated by OGT1 stress was greater than those mediated by OGT2 stress. The quorum sensing pathway of L. plantarum S7 was changed significantly by OGT stress compared with no OGT stress cells (P < 0.05), and the expression of Luxs in the pathway was significantly upregulated by OGT1 stress (P < 0.05). The ABC transportation pathway was significantly altered by OGT1 stress (P < 0.05), of which the expression of the peptide ABC transporter substrate-binding protein and energy-coupling factor transporter ATP-binding protein EcfA was significantly upregulated by OGT stress (P < 0.05). The glycolide metabolism pathway was significantly altered by OGT1 stress compared with that in response to OGT2 stress (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: L. plantarum S7 had a strong ability to resist OGT stress, which was regulated by the proteins and pathways related to OGT stress. The adhesion ability of L. plantarum S7 was enhanced after continuous exposure to OGT1 stress, making it a potential probiotic with a promising future for application.

A Case of Cystic Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Mimicking a Cyst.

ABSTRACT: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) classically presents as irregular soft tissue lesions. Very rarely, ICC may manifest as a predominantly cystic mass. Here, we describe a 59-year-old man who was referred to the hospital due to abdominal pain. The presentation was highly suggestive of a hepatic cyst based on MRI. 18F-FDG PET/CT could not exclude a malignant hepatic tumor due to the high metabolism in the margin. Subsequently, the patient underwent a left hemihepatectomy. Histopathology revealed malignant ICC.

Bone Sequestration as a Consequence of Esophageal Carcinoma Metastasis Detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT.

A bony sequestrum is a single piece of bone present in an area of osteolysis. It is separated from the surrounding bone and is primarily observed in patients with bone infection. We present our radiographic findings on F-FDG PET/CT in a case of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with a sequestrum in the skull metastasis.

Simultaneous pulmonary and inferior vena cava tumor thromboembolism secondary to retroperitoneal pleomorphic liposarcoma.

Retroperitoneal pleomorphic liposarcoma (RPLS) is the least common but the most aggressive subtype of liposarcoma. We herein report a case of tumor embolism (TE) to the inferior vena cava (IVC) and pulmonary arteries in a 54 years old woman with RPLS. The case suggests that fusion fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) can accurately detect occult TE. It also illustrates the usefulness of computed tomography (CT) and high 18F-FDG uptake by PET/CT imaging for diagnosing such findings as filling defect in the veins and beaded pulmonary arteries as TE. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of simultaneous pulmonary and inferior vena cava thromboembolism secondary to RPLS. And occult TE from RPLS has not been reported previously by 18F-FDG PET/CT.