Plasma Metabolomic and Lipidomic Alterations Associated with COVID-19

The pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global public health crisis. The symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe conditions. However, the physiological changes associated with COVID-19 are barely understood. In this study, we performed targeted metabolomic and lipidomic analyses of plasma from a cohort of COVID-19 patients who had experienced different symptoms. We found the metabolite and lipid alterations exhibit apparent correlation with the course of disease in these COVID-19 patients, indicating that the development of COVID-19 affected whole-body metabolism of the patients. In particular, malic acid of the TCA cycle and carbamoyl phosphate of urea cycle reveal the altered energy metabolism and hepatic dysfunction, respectively. It should be noted that carbamoyl phosphate is profoundly down-regulated in fatal patients compared with mild patients. And more importantly, guanosine monophosphate (GMP), which is mediated by not only GMP synthase but also CD39 and CD73, is significant changed between healthy subjects and COVID-19 patients, as well as between the mild and fatal groups. In addition, the dyslipidaemia was observed in COVID-19 patients. Overall, the disturbed metabolic patterns have been found to align with the progress and severity of COVID-19. This work provides valuable knowledge about plasma biomarkers associated with COVID- 19 and potential therapeutic targets, as well as important resource for further studies of COVID-19 pathogenesis.

Effects of duodenal-jejunal bypass and sleeve gastrectomy on the expression of liver glucokinase in diabetic rats / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of duodenal-jejunal bypass(DJB) and sleeve gastrectomy(SG) on the expression of liver glucokinase(GCK) in diabetic rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Animal models of Goto-Kakizaki rats and Sprague-Dawley rats were established by DJB and SG. Results of fasting glycemia and insulin were compared. Liver tissue was harvested 8 weeks postoperatively.Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot were used to detect liver GCK mRNA and protein expression after operation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Fasting plasma glucose levels of DJB group and SG group in GK rats were markedly declined 3 day and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks postoperatively(all P <0.01), while Sham group only dropped 3 day and 1 week postoperatively, and there were no significant differences 2 weeks postoperatively(P >0.05). Fasting plasma glucose levels of each group in SD rats did not change after operation. In GK rats, GCK mRNA level (1.45 +/-0.29) and protein expression (494.25 +/-30.25) after DJB were higher than Sham group (1.05 +/-0.19 and 409.13 +/-26.86) and control group (1.04 +/-0.17 and 404.75 +/-30.90). GCK mRNA level and protein expression after SG were 0.65 +/-0.25 and 345.25 +/-28.13 respectively, which were significantly lower than those in control group(all P <0.01). All the groups in SD rats experienced similar GCK expression change.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both DJB and SG can decrease the plasma glucose levels of GK rats, while there are different effects on the expression of liver GCK.</p>

Application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in laparoscopic gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer patients treated by laparoscopy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifteen patients with histologically proved gastric adenocarcinomas (stages II(, III(, IIII(M(0)) were treated with FOLFOX7 neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by laparoscopy between June 2005 and March 2007( trial group). Thirty patients were assigned to the control group with only laparoscopic treatment in the same period. The clinicopathological data were compared between two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients in trial group accepted four cycles of preoperative chemotherapy and the toxicity was less than grade 3. Two of them achieved complete response, 10 achieved partial response and 3 kept stable disease. Ten patients of trial group underwent laparoscopic-assisted radical gastrectomy. The rates of R(0)-resection(80.0%) and pN(0) (60.0%) in trial group were significantly higher than those in control group(46.7% and 20.0%), while the rate of positive lymph node 11.0%(34/309) was significantly lower than that of control group 23.8%(142/596). The operation time and postoperative complication were similar in two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Advanced gastric cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be down-regulated in the stage, increase the rate of R(0)-resection, diminish the infiltration extent of tumor, decrease the metastasis of lymph node, and increase the possibility of laparoscopic radical gastrectomy.</p>