Microbiological composition of follicular fluid in patients undergoing IVF and its association with infertility.

PROBLEM: In recent years, the incidence of female infertility has risen sharply, which is affected by many factors. It was recognized that female reproductive tract microbes play a role in the process of female conception. If the reproductive tract microbes could solve a certain proportion of infertility, it would certainly reduce the pain and economic burden of many patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial community composition of follicular fluid in infertile patients and its potential impact on infertility. METHOD OF STUDY: Follicular fluid from 49 primary infertility and 52 secondary infertility patients was collected by a negative pressure needle, and the microbiota was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. RESULTS: It was found that Lactobacillus, especially L. crispatus, might have a positive effect on female pregnancy. Considering the presence or absence of male factors and different body mass indices, L. iners might inhibit female pregnancy. However, L. iners seemed to play a positive role in egg maturation, while Gardnerella and Cutibacterium acnes might have a negative effect on female pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested the potential role of Lactobacillus in follicular fluid in improving female infertility and provided a theoretical basis for the future microbiological treatment of female infertility.

Identification of Immune-Related Genes Associated With Bladder Cancer Based on Immunological Characteristics and Their Correlation With the Prognosis.

BACKGROUND: To identify the immune-related genes of bladder cancer (BLCA) based on immunological characteristics and explore their correlation with the prognosis. METHODS: We downloaded the gene and clinical data of BLCA from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as the training group, and obtained immune-related genes from the Immport database. We downloaded GSE31684 and GSE39281 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) as the external validation group. R (version 4.0.5) and Perl were used to analyze all data. RESULT: Univariate Cox regression analysis and Lasso regression analysis revealed that 9 prognosis-related immunity genes (PIMGs) of differentially expressed immune genes (DEIGs) were significantly associated with the survival of BLCA patients (p < 0.01), of which 5 genes, including NPR2, PDGFRA, VIM, RBP1, RBP1 and TNC, increased the risk of the prognosis, while the rest, including CD3D, GNLY, LCK, and ZAP70, decreased the risk of the prognosis. Then, we used these genes to establish a prognostic model. We drew receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves in the training group, and estimated the area under the curve (AUC) of 1-, 3- and 5-year survival for this model, which were 0.688, 0.719, and 0.706, respectively. The accuracy of the prognostic model was verified by the calibration chart. Combining clinical factors, we established a nomogram. The ROC curve in the external validation group showed that the nomogram had a good predictive ability for the survival rate, with a high accuracy, and the AUC values of 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 0.744, 0.770, and 0.782, respectively. The calibration chart indicated that the nomogram performed similarly with the ideal model. CONCLUSION: We had identified nine genes, including PDGFRA, VIM, RBP1, RBP1, TNC, CD3D, GNLY, LCK, and ZAP70, which played important roles in the occurrence and development of BLCA. The prognostic model based on these genes had good accuracy in predicting the OS of patients and might be promising candidates of therapeutic targets. This study may provide a new insight for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of BLCA from the perspective of immunology. However, further experimental studies are necessary to reveal the underlying mechanisms by which these genes mediate the progression of BLCA.

[Clinical Significance of Interleukin-2 Receptor, Interleukin-8 Expression Levels in the Diagnosis of Infection in Patients with Hematological Malignancies].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of expression level of interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in the fever patients with hematological malignancies. METHODS: A total of 121 inpatients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from April 2018 to October 2019 were enrolled in this study. The patients were separated into infection group (61 cases) and non-infection group (60 cases). In the meantime, 40 healthy people without fever or infection in the hospital for physical examination were set as matched group. C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and cytokines were detected in all the patients with fever after admission and infection control. While, blood samples were taken from healthy people during physical examination. RESULTS: The expression levels of IL-2R in infection group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001), and the level of serum IL-2R in infection group was also higher than that in the non-infection group (P<0.05). Based on Spearman analysis, in patients with malignant hematologic disease, serum IL-2R level was positively correlated with CRP (r=0.557, P<0.001) and IL-8 (r=0.479, P<0.001), and IL-8 level was positively correlated with CRP (r=0.318, P<0.001). Compared with the non-infection group, the area under the curve (AUC) for the level of CRP, PCT, and IL-2R of the infection group was 0.714 (95%CI: 0.623-0.806), 0.765 (95%CI: 0.680-0.851), and 0.761 (95%CI: 0.686-0.836), the sensitivity was 0.705, 0.852, and 0.705, and the specificity was 0.717, 0.70, and 0.60, respectively. While, AUC of CRP+PCT, CRP+IL-2R, PCT+IL-2R, and CRP+PCT+IL-2R was 0.789 (95%CI: 0.712-0.866), 0.702 (95%CI: 0.623-0.782), 0.757 (95%CI: 0.677-0.838), and 0.789 (95%CI: 0.712-0.866), the sensitivity was 0.738, 0.934, 0.705, and 0.738, and the specificity was 0.840, 0.470, 0.810, and 0.840, respectively. CONCLUSION: CRP, PCT, IL-2R, and IL-8 are useful parameters for diagnosis of the infectious fever in patients with hematological malignancies, which provides the basis of initial diagnosis and rational use of antibioties for clinician.