AbstractObjective To analyze the clinical characteristics of neonatal cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) infection in Suzhou since December 2022. Methods In this retrospective case series study, the clinical data of 23 neonates with SARS-CoV-2 infection at our hospital from December 10, 2022, to January 10, 2023, were collected, and the epidemiological history, clinical manifestations and outcomes, laboratory changes, etc., were analyzed. Results Among the 23 infants, there were 9 males and 14 females, 22 full-term infants, and 1 premature infant (35 weeks+ 1). The oldest was 27 days old, and the youngest was premature. Age at diagnosis was 14(9.0,19.0) days. The mothers were all prenatally diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). All 22 full-term infants lived with their mothers in the same room. Among them, 8 were exclusively breastfed, 14 were mixed-fed, and 1 was a preterm infant who was not breastfed. Twenty-two neonates were infected by horizontal transmission, and 1 was infected by suspected vertical transmission from mother to child. The clinical classification included 1 asymptomatic infection, 20 mild infections, 2 moderate infections. The most common clinical manifestations were fever (21 neonates), and the fever duration was 1–6 days. Other clinical manifestations included respiratory symptoms(18 neonates), digestive tract symptoms(12 neonates) and abdominal distension (2 neonates). Neurological symptoms included mild drowsiness, irritability, and crying (3 neonates). The other symptoms included 4 cases of jaundice and 2 cases of rash. The white blood cell count was lower than 4.0*109/L in 1 neonate. The lymphocyte count was lower than 1.0*109/L in 1 neonate. Interleukin-6 was normal in 3 neonates, slightly elevated in 11 neonates, and greater than 200 pg/ml in 2 neonates. Procalcitonin was slightly elevated in 1 neonate. The creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) was slightly elevated in 4 neonates. Two neonates had flocculent high-density shadows in chest X-ray. 21 patients were cured and discharged, while another 2 patients were discharged after improvement; the length of hospitalization was 3.8 (4.0,5.0)days. Twenty-one patients were followed up and no repeated clinical manifestations were reported. Conclusion SARS-CoV-2 infection in neonates in this area was mainly transmitted horizontally and mainly mild cases, with mild clinical symptoms and mildly increased inflammatory indicators. The short-term prognosis was good.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a disorder of neurodegeneration. Imperatorin is an active natural furocoumarin characterized by antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and potent vasodilatory properties. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the biological functions of imperatorin and its mechanisms against PD progression. C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP; 30 mg/kg) daily for 5 consecutive days to mimic PD conditions in vivo. The MPTP-induced PD model mice were intraperitoneally injected with imperatorin (5 mg/kg) for 25 consecutive days after MPTP administration. The motor and cognitive functions of mice were examined by rotarod test, hanging test, narrow beam test and Morris water maze test. After analysis of MWM test, the expression levels of tyrosine hydroxylase and Iba-1 in the substantia nigra pars compacta were measured by immunohistochemistry staining, immunofluorescence staining and western blotting. The expression levels of striatal dopamine and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid were also measured. The protein levels of inducible nitric-oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt) in the mouse striatum were estimated by western blotting. The expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in the mouse striatum were measured by ELISA kits. The expression levels of superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde and glutathione in the mouse midbrains were measured with commercially available kits. TUNEL staining was performed to identify the apoptosis of midbrain cells. Histopathologic changes in the mouse striata were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Imperatorin treatment markedly improved spatial learning and memory abilities of MPTP-induced PD mice. The MPTP-induced dopaminergic neuron loss in the mouse striata was inhibited by imperatorin. Imperatorin also suppressed neuroinflammation and neuronal oxidative stress in the midbrains of MPTP-induced PD mice. Mechanistically, imperatorin treatment inhibited the MPTP-induced reduction in the PI3K/Akt pathway. Imperatorin treatment can prevent dopaminergic neuron degeneration and improve cognitive functions via its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in an MPTP-induced PD model in mice by regulating the PI3K/Akt pathway.
Objectives This study aimed to identify risk factors contributing to diverse pregnancy outcomes in primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) cases. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on pregnant individuals with pSS, who received outpatient or inpatient care across multiple hospitals in Anhui Province, China, from January 2015 to December 2022. Results This study included 164 pregnant women with pSS and 328 control subjects, with no statistically significant difference in average age between the two groups. Analysis of pregnancy outcomes revealed that, compared with the control group, pregnant women in the pSS group were more likely to experience miscarriages, both spontaneous (12.80% vs 1.52%, p<0.001) and therapeutic (6.10% vs 0.91%, p<0.05). The proportion of placental abnormalities detected during prenatal ultrasound in women from the pSS group was higher (14.63% vs 6.40%, p<0.05). In the analysis of pregnancy outcomes for live-born neonates, a higher incidence of congenital heart abnormalities was observed in the pSS group (27.34% vs 12.03%, p<0.05). While there were no significant differences between the pSS pregnancies in terms of both normal and adverse pregnancy outcomes, a comparison of fetal survival and fetal loss in pSS pregnancies revealed a greater use of prophylactic anticoagulant therapy in the fetal survival group. Notably, the application of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) emerged as an independent protective factor for fetal survival. Conclusions Compared with non-autoimmune controls, pregnancy in women with pSS presents more challenges. Importantly, we observed that the use of LMWH as anticoagulant therapy is an independent protective measure for fetal survival.
Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most malignant tumors that seriously threaten to human health. Increased reports indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were associated with GC. This study aims to investigate the regulatory role of colon cancer associated transcript-1 (CCAT1) in GC. The results exhibited that CCAT1 was higher expressed in 57 GC tissue samples than in 57 paired adjacent normal tissue samples. The expression of CCAT1 was also increased in GC cell lines (MKN45, Hs746T and SGC-7901) compared with gastric epithelial cell line GES-1. Besides, decreased cell proliferation with increased cell apoptosis were detected in SGC-7902 cells transfected with CCAT1 shRNA. At the same time, lower cell invasion ability was measured in SCG-7901 cells transfected with CCAT1-shRNA. In addition, miR-219-1 was predicted and convinced a direct target of CCAT1. The expression of miR-219-1 was declined in GC tissues and GC cell lines. Further studies demonstrated that the roles of CCAT1 on cell proliferation, apoptosis and invasion were inhibited by miR-219-1. At last, the in vivo experiment indicated that tumor growth of GC was suppressed through knockdown of CCAT1. In conclusion, these results suggested that CAT1 promotes the tumorigenesis and progression of GC by negative-regulating miR-219-1. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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