Single-cell sequencing identifies inflammation-promoting fibroblast-neutrophil interaction in peri-implantitis.

AIM: To reveal the cellular composition and molecular environment of the periodontal and peri-implant inflammatory infiltrates through a single-cell sequencing technique, which may explain the pathological difference between these two diseases. A special focus was placed on the phenotypes and potential roles of neutrophils and fibroblasts in peri-implant/periodontal tissue immunity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: High-throughput single-cell transcriptomic profiling of peri-implant tissues from patients with peri-implantitis as well as periodontal tissues from patients with periodontitis and healthy donors was performed. Immunofluorescence analysis was carried out to further validate the identified cell subtypes and their involvement in peri-implantitis and periodontitis. RESULTS: Based on our single-cell resolution analysis, a quantified proportional increase of neutrophil (Neu) subtypes was shown in peri-implantitis. Among these, a predominance of Neutro_CXCR2 was revealed. We also found the involvement of inflammation-promoting fibroblasts as well as a predominance of CXCL8+ fibroblast-CXCR2+ neutrophil interaction in peri-implantitis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that the predominance of CXCL8+ fibroblast-CXCR2+ neutrophil interaction might underline the enhanced host response in peri-implantitis compared with periodontitis. This information offers a molecular basis by which fibroblast and neutrophil subtypes might be diagnostically and therapeutically targeted in peri-implantitis.

Pontibacterium sinense sp. nov., a nitrate-reducing and thiosulphate-oxidizing bacterium, isolated from coastal sediment.

A novel bacterial strain, N1Y112T, was isolated from coastal sediment collected in Weihai, PR China. This Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, motile rod-shaped bacterium exhibited the ability to oxidize thiosulphate to sulphate and reduce nitrate to ammonia through its Sox system and nitrate reduction pathway, respectively. The strain grew at 20-35 °C (optimum, 28 °C), pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 7.5) and in the presence of 1.0-5.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 3.0 %). Major fatty acids present in the strain included summed feature 8 (comprising C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c), summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1 ω7c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c) and C16 : 0. Its polar lipid profile consisted of one phosphatidylethanolamine, two unknown aminolipids, one aminophosphoglycolipid, one diphosphatidylglycerol, one phosphatidylglycerol, two unknown phospholipids and two unknown lipids. Strain N1Y112T contained ubiquinone-7 and ubiquinone-8 as isoprenoid quinones, with a genomic G+C content of 50.6 mol%. Based on phylogenetic analysis, strain N1Y112T clustered with Pontibacterium granulatum JCM 30316T being its closest relative at 97.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were 77.1 and 20.7 %, respectively, which suggest significant differences between genomes of N1Y112T and P. granulatum JCM 30316T. Based on the findings from its phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, N1Y112T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Pontibacterium, for which the name Pontibacterium sinense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is N1Y112T (=KCTC 72927T=MCCC 1H00429T).

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Identifies New Inflammation-Promoting Cell Subsets in Asian Patients With Chronic Periodontitis.

Periodontitis is a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease leading to periodontal tissue breakdown and subsequent tooth loss, in which excessive host immune response accounts for most of the tissue damage and disease progression. Despite of the imperative need to develop host modulation therapy, the inflammatory responses and cell population dynamics which are finely tuned by the pathological microenvironment in periodontitis remained unclear. To investigate the local microenvironment of the inflammatory response in periodontitis, 10 periodontitis patients and 10 healthy volunteers were involved in this study. Single-cell transcriptomic profilings of gingival tissues from two patients and two healthy donors were performed. Histology, immunohistochemistry, and flow cytometry analysis were performed to further validate the identified cell subtypes and their involvement in periodontitis. Based on our single-cell resolution analysis, we identified HLA-DR-expressing endothelial cells and CXCL13+ fibroblasts which are highly associated with immune regulation. We also revealed the involvement of the proinflammatory NLRP3+ macrophages in periodontitis. We further showed the increased cell-cell communication between macrophage and T/B cells in the inflammatory periodontal tissues. Our data generated an intriguing catalog of cell types and interaction networks in the human gingiva and identified new inflammation-promoting cell subtypes involved in chronic periodontitis, which will be helpful in advancing host modulation therapy.

PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 gene variations in idiopathic membranous nephropathy in South China.

INTRODUCTION: Associations of variations in PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 genes with susceptibility to idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) have been well documented. Association with spontaneous remission, however, is poorly defined in the Chinese Han population. METHODS: A Chinese cohort of 117 IMN patients and 138 healthy controls were recruited between July 2009 and November 2019. Case-control studies for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within HLA-DQA1 (rs2187668) and PLA2R1 (rs35771982, rs4664308, rs3749117, rs3749119) genes were performed. The contributions of these polymorphisms to predict susceptibility, titre of autoantibodies against the M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (anti-PLA2R1), glomerular PLA2R1 expression, and spontaneous remission were analysed. RESULTS: We found that variations in PLA2R1 (SNPs rs35771982, rs4664308, rs3749117) were strongly associated with IMN susceptibility, while SNP (rs2187668) within HLA-DQA1 did not increase the risk of IMN. All SNPs in PLA2R1 and HLA-DQA1 were not statistically associated with anti-PLA2R1 titre, glomerular PLA2R1 expression and spontaneous remission after Bonferroni correction (P>0.0167). Clinical and pathological parameters such as lower levels of serum albumin, higher levels of anti-PLA2R1 and glomerular PLA2R1 expression were independent risk factors for non-spontaneous remission. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that variations in PLA2R1 (SNPs rs35771982, rs4664308, rs3749117) are risk factors for IMN. We found excellent association of serum albumin level, anti-PLA2R1 titre and glomerular PLA2R1 positivity with non-spontaneous remission in IMN.

A Prospective Study of Comparing the Application of Two Generation Scoring Systems in Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to compare the value of acute physiologic and chronic health evaluation scoring systems (APACHE II and APACHE III) among patients with acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: The APACHE II and APACHE III scores were determined in 399 patients with acute cerebral infarction within 24 h of admission in order to investigate their predictive value for prognosis in acute cerebral infarction. The area under the ROC curve was used to measure the ability of two scoring systems in predicting the prognosis of patients, and the area under the curve of the two scoring systems was compared. RESULTS: The APACHE II and APACHE III scoring systems demonstrated good predictive value for prognosis in acute cerebral infarction, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic were 0.808 and 0.818, respectively. There was no significant difference in the area under the curve between these two scoring systems. CONCLUSION: Both the APACHE II and APACHE III scoring systems had good predictive value for prognosis in acute cerebral infarction, and there was no obvious difference between these two systems. Preference was suggested for APACHE II.

Application Values of Six Scoring Systems in the Prognosis of Stroke Patients.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE; II and III), Chinese Stroke Scale (CSS), National Institutes of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS), activities of daily living (ADL) (Barthel index, BI), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores for stroke patients. Methods: A total of 352 stroke patients were evaluated using APACHE II, APACHE III, CSS, NIHSS, ADL, and GCS scores within 24 h after admission. And these patients were consecutive admissions to the hospital. The endpoint was in-hospital death. The scores of these scales were compared between the survival group and death group, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn. The ability of each scoring system to predict the prognosis of patients was evaluated using the area under the ROC curve, and the areas under the curves (AUCs) of these six scales were compared. Results: The AUCs of the APACHE II, APACHE III, CSS, NIHSS, ADL, and GCS scores were 0.882, 0.867, 0.832, 0.859, 0.838, and 0.819, respectively. Conclusion: APACHE II, APACHE III, CSS, NIHSS, ADL, and GCS scores have good predictive values in the prognosis of stroke patients. APACHE II is superior among the other five scales.

Predictive values of CSS and NIHSS in the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction: A comparative analysis.

This study aims to investigate the predictive values of the Chinese Stroke Scale (CSS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) in the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction.A total of 399 patients with acute cerebral infarction were assessed using CSS and NIHSS within 1 day after admission. Then, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were established, and the area under the curves of these 2 scoring systems was compared.The area under the curve of CSS and NIHSS was 0.796 and 0.794, respectively.CSS and NIHSS have good predictive values for the prognosis of patients with acute cerebral infarction.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas: clinical features and imaging findings.

This study aimed to report clinical features and CT, MRI, PET/CT findings of solid pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas. Thirty-four patients with pathologically proven SPT were retrospectively reviewed. Most patients were asymptomatic. SPTs in male patients mainly appeared as solid and near solid tumors. Mixed tumors and cystic tumors had larger size than solid and near solid tumors. Solid tumors and solid part of mixed tumors were T2 hyperintense and T1 hypointense and had progressive enhancement. Four tumors (80%) showed markedly even or uneven 18F-FDG uptake. These characteristic features can help differentiate SPT from other pancreatic neoplasms.

Computer Tomography Imaging Findings of Abdominal Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma: A Report of 5 Cases.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) is a neoplasm that arises from follicular dendritic cells. FDCSs originating in the abdomen are extremely rare. Clinically, they often mimic a wide variety of other abdominal tumors, and correct preoperative diagnosis is often a challenging task. To date, only scattered cases of abdominal FDCS have been reported and few data are available on their radiological features. Here we present the computer tomography imaging findings of 5 patients with surgically and pathologically demonstrated abdominal FDCS. An abdominal FDCS should be included in the differential diagnosis when single or multiple masses with relatively large size, well- or ill-defined borders, complex internal architecture with marked internal necrosis and/or focal calcification, and heterogeneous enhancement with "rapid wash-in and slow wash-out" or "progressive enhancement" enhancement patterns in the solid component are seen.

[Reconstruction of a digital three-dimensional model of fetal heart].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the methods for constructing the digital three-dimensional model of fetal heart. METHODS: Original two-dimensional CT image data sets were collected from 4 abortion fetuses with fetal malformations but not heart malformation or chromosomal abnormalities. The three-dimensional fetal heart model was reconstructed using Mimics14.0 software. RESULTS: In the reconstructed three-dimensional fetal heart, the left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium, right ventricle, the ascending aorta, the main pulmonary and their branches, the superior cava and inferior vena cava were marked with different colors, and these structures could be displayed individually or with other structures. This model also allowed three-dimensional arbitrary scaling, shifting or rotation at any angle, and the diameter of the each vessel could be measured with the software. CONCLUSION: The fetal heart model can be successfully reconstructed from the CT datasets using three-dimensional reconstruction software to facilitate clinical and anatomical teaching.

[Effects of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation on patients with arrhythmia complicated by sleep apnea syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical efficacy of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in treatment of patients with arrhythmia complicated by sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). METHODS: One hundred and thirty-five arrhythmia patients with polysomnography diagnosed SAS were randomly divided into NPPV group (69 cases) and control group (66 cases), the NPPV group was treated with standard medications and NPPV, and the control group was treated with standard medications. SAS related parameters were compared between the groups after 3 months therapy. RESULTS: (1) Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) score, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and arousal index were significantly lower (8.25 ± 5.41 vs.4.08 ± 3.43, 39.95 ± 7.32 vs. 4.71 ± 1.80 and 39.69 ± 4.40 vs. 15.20 ± 2.05, P < 0.01) while not rapid eye movement (NREM) III and rapid eye movement stage of sleep time and lowest pulse oxygen saturation (LSaO2) were significantly higher in NPPV group than in control group [(4.53 ± 2.10)% vs. (16.78 ± 2.59)%,(8.37 ± 1.380)% vs. (15.25 ± 1.41)%, (77.15 ± 6.72)% vs. (93.35 ± 2.03)%, P < 0.01] after 3 months therapy. (2) Incidence of Sinus bradycardia, sinus tachycardia, sinus arrest, atrial premature beats, ventricular premature beats, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, II-III degree atrioventricular block, ST-T segment changes were reduced from 57.4%, 44.4%, 7.4%, 20.4%, 13.0%, 36.5%, 12.0%, 8.3%, 37.0%, 53.7% to 4.6%, 1.9%,0.0%, 3.7%, 2.8%, 7.0%, 0.9%, 0.0%, 1.9%, 4.6% (all P < 0.05) and the total number of arrhythmias happened at night were significantly lower (all P < 0.05) while the heart rate variability (HRV) were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in NPPV group than in control group; AHI was positively while LSaO2 was negatively correlated with the total night arrhythmia number (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation is an effective therapy strategy for treating patients with arrhythmia complicated by sleep apnea syndrome.

[Risk factors on the recurrence of ischemic stroke and the establishment of a Cox's regression model].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors and establish the Cox's regression model on the recurrence of ischemic stroke. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients with ischemic stroke admitted to the Neurology Department of the Hebei United University Affiliated Hospital between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009. Cases had been followed since the onset of ischemic stroke. The follow-up program was finished in June 30, 2010. Kaplan-Meier methods were used to describe the recurrence rate. Monovariant and multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression model were used to analyze the risk factors associated to the episodes of recurrence. And then, a recurrence model was set up. RESULTS: During the period of follow-up program, 79 cases were relapsed, with the recurrence rates as 12.75% in one year and 18.87% in two years. Monovariant and multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression model showed that the independent risk factors that were associated with the recurrence appeared to be age (X1) (RR = 1.025, 95%CI: 1.003 - 1.048), history of hypertension (X2) (RR = 1.976, 95%CI: 1.014 - 3.851), history of family strokes (X3) (RR = 2.647, 95%CI: 1.175 - 5.961), total cholesterol amount (X4) (RR = 1.485, 95%CI: 1.214 - 1.817), ESRS total scores (X5) (RR = 1.327, 95%CI: 1.057 - 1.666) and progression of the disease (X6) (RR = 1.889, 95%CI: 1.123 - 3.178). Personal prognosis index (PI) of the recurrence model was as follows: PI = 0.025X1 + 0.681X2 + 0.973X3 + 0.395X4 + 0.283X5 + 0.636X6. The smaller the personal prognosis index was, the lower the recurrence risk appeared, while the bigger the personal prognosis index was, the higher the recurrence risk appeared. CONCLUSION: Age, history of hypertension, total cholesterol amount, total scores of ESRS, together with the disease progression were the independent risk factors associated with the recurrence episodes of ischemic stroke. Both recurrence model and the personal prognosis index equation were successful constructed.