Testicular ischemia secondary to acute epididymitis: A case report.

RATIONALE: Rare side effects of acute epididymitis include testicular infarction and ischemia. Distinguishing them from testicular torsion is challenging, both clinically and radiologically. However, only a few such cases have been reported to date. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 12-year-old child presented with persistent right testicular pain for 3 days. It developed after trauma and was accompanied by gradual swelling and enlargement of the right scrotum, with nausea and vomiting. Scrotal color Doppler ultrasonography demonstrated right epididymitis, right scrotal wall swelling, and right testicular torsion. Routine blood tests revealed leukocyte and neutrophil counts were both above normal. DIAGNOSIS: Scrotal exploration revealed edema and adhesions in all layers of the scrotal wall. The right testicle was pale. The patient was diagnosed with testicular ischemia secondary to acute epididymitis. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent simultaneous lower spermatic cord sheath dissection and decompression, testicular sheath reversal, and right testicular fixation. OUTCOMES: Blood flow to the testicles gradually recovered after decompression, as did the color. Postoperatively, the patient's scrotal swelling and pain improved significantly. LESSONS: Despite the rarity of this condition, it is a potentially serious consequence of epididymitis and should be considered when patients experience sudden scrotal pain.

Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis reveals the response mechanisms of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris to heat stress.

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris can survive pasteurization and is implicated in pasteurized fruit juice spoilage. However, the mechanisms underlying heat responses remain largely unknown. Herein, gene transcription changes of A. acidoterrestris under heat stress were detected by transcriptome, and an integrated analysis with proteomic and physiological data was conducted. A total of 911 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was observed. The majority of DEGs and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were exclusively regulated at the mRNA and protein level, respectively, whereas only 59 genes were regulated at both levels and had the same change trends. Comparative analysis of the functions of the specifically or commonly regulated DEGs and DEPs revealed that the heat resistance of A. acidoterrestris was primarily based on modulating peptidoglycan and fatty acid composition to maintain cell envelope integrity. Low energy consumption strategies were established with attenuated glycolysis, decreased ribosome de novo synthesis, and activated ribosome hibernation. Terminal oxidases, cytochrome bd and aa3, in aerobic respiratory chain were upregulated. Meanwhile, the MarR family transcriptional regulator was upregulated, reactive oxygen species (ROS) was discovered, and the concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased, indicating that the accompanied oxidative stress was induced by high temperature. Additionally, DNA and protein damage repair systems were activated. This study provided a global perspective on the response mechanisms of A. acidoterrestris to heat stress, with implications for better detection and control of its contamination in fruit juice.

Transcriptome-Based Selection and Validation of Reference Genes for Gene Expression Analysis of Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris Under Acid Stress.

Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris is a major concern in fruit juice industry due to its spoilage potential of acidic fruit juice. Quantifying the expression levels of functional genes by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is necessary to elucidate the response mechanisms of A. acidoterrestris to acid stress. However, appropriate reference genes (RGs) for data normalization are required to obtain reliable RT-qPCR results. In this study, eight novel candidate RGs were screened based on transcriptome datasets of A. acidoterrestris under acid stress. The expression stability of eight new RGs and commonly used RG 16s rRNA was assessed using geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper algorithms. Moreover, the comprehensive analysis using the RefFinder program and the validation using target gene ctsR showed that dnaG and dnaN were the optimal multiple RGs for normalization at pH 4.0; ytvI, dnaG, and 16s rRNA at pH 3.5; icd and dnaG at pH 3.0; and ytvI, dnaG, and spoVE at pH 2.5. This study revealed for the first time that A. acidoterrestris had different suitable RGs under different acid conditions, with implications for further deciphering the acid response mechanisms of this spoilage-causing bacterium.