Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine最新文献

Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is a member of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily and is also known as mullerian inhibiting substance (MIS) due to its role in causing the regression of the mullerian ducts. AMH has become a heavily researched topic in recent years due to its use as an ideal biological marker and the development of technology for AMH analysis. The purpose of this review is to first summarize the potential clinical applications of AMH and to discuss the development of an immunoassay for AMH.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a liver inflammatory disease via induction of debris-like necrosis in the liver portal area, which is characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia and a variety of autoantibodies. And its performance is very similar to viral hepatitis, but with absolutely different treatment. The pathogenesis of AIH is not clear, genetic susceptibility is considered to be the main factor. AIH is a cause of multiple pathogenic disease, and can induce viruses, bacteria, chemicals and drugs which are potential causes for genetic sensitive individuals, to participate in inflammatory disease processes. Due to the destruction of immune tolerance, liver-specific membrane proteins were expressed on the surface of liver cells, asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) and microsomal cytochrome P4502D6 are considered to be more clearly present to stimulate AIH antigen. Activation of CD4+ T cells by direct exposure and release of cytokines stimulates B cells to produce antibodies that initiate immune injury responses. At the same time cytokine activation of CD8+ T cells mediates antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) effect to kill hepatocytes, activating tumour necrosis factor (TNF) or Fas-mediated hepatocellular death. However, AIH patients are always proved to be lack of immunoregulatory function, which is newly considered to be the cardinal cause of AIH. Genetic susceptibility, molecular simulation theory, and immune pathogenesis are main points of this review article. Especially, in-depth statement has been made from several aspects of AIH’s immune pathogenesis such as cellular immune mechanism, humoral immunity with ADCC, immunosuppressive effects of regulatory T cells, and cytokine theory. Thus, a better understanding of the pathogenesis of AIH is of great importance.

Synthesis of chitosan mediated silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and its characterization were fulfilled by UV–vis spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. UV–visible absorption spectrum revealed that the formation efficiency of Ag NPs was increased by the addition of chitosan. In addition, the size decrement of NPs was more remarkable at a higher chitosan concentration. XRD pattern has indicated that Ag NPs were spherical structured and crystalline in nature (JCPDS card no: 65-2871). The AFM and TEM images examined the surface morphology and the size of the synthesized NPs. DLS image confirmed the size distribution and range of the Ag NPs. The synthesized Ag NPs showed highly potent antibacterial and antifungal activities. The study suggested that crustacean waste could be a cheaper source for the production of Ag NPs which could be useful in various medical applications for biomedicine research and may create a new market for sea food with products such as chitin and chitosan.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most disregarded diseases in both developing and developed countries and accountable for one fourth of the health care related infections. Even though the women and children are the most susceptible reservoir, the infections are at a significant amount in men of all ages. In UTI, the multidrug resistant bacteria (MDRB) is an emerging burden and now represents a daily challenge for the management of antimicrobial therapy in healthcare settings. A total of 100 uropathogens of Gram negative bacteria (GNB) were used in the current study to detect the ciprofloxacin resistant effect due to extended spectrum beta lactameses production (ESBLs). The phenotypic identification of ESBLs producing uropathogens from UTIs were detected by primary ESBL identification test (PMIT) and double disc combination method (DDCM). In addition, the ESBL production was further confirmed by MIC stripe method. Further, the prevalence of TEM, SHV, OXA and CTX-M type genes of isolated GNB and ciprofloxacin resistant strains was detected by multiplex PCR method. Among the 100 uropathogens, 84% was found to produce ESBLs. Out of 84, 60 strains were identified as ciprofloxacin resistant by Hexa discs and they developed resistance against all antibiotics. The PMIT and DDCM proved the result including Escherichia coli (26), 21 isolates of Proteusmirabilis, 17 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 14 of Klebsiellapneumoniae and 6 of Acinetobacter sp. In particular, the high number of CTX-M and TEM genes were frequently detected from collected uropathogens and all the TEM, SHV, OXA, and CTX-M genes were identified from ciprofloxacin resistant strains only. Due to the increase of multiple ESBL genes in uropathogens, sustained supervision for using favorable antibiotics and the decreasing the infection is essential.

Primary small cell carcinoma (SCC) of the endometrium is a rare neuroendocrine tumor with aggressive behavior and poor prognosis, and no effective therapeutic method and prognosis monitoring were established. Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters have been asscociated with increasing metastatic potential and poor prognosis in malignant tumor. Here we presented a case of a 65-year-old woman with primary SCC of the endometrium diagnosed as stage IIIC. The patient received hysterosalpingo-oophorectom, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but the condition of the patient grew worse, and rapidly distant metastasis occured in supraclavicular lymph nodes. When we detcted the number of CTC in the patient’s blood, CTC clusters were found. Moreover, plakoglobin exhibited positivity. Finally, the patient died four months after the surgery. It was speculated that CTC clusters could be a prognostic factor and therapeutic target of primary SCC of the endometrium.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of non-coding single small RNAs transcribed from Eukaryotic genes, regulate gene expression at post-transcriptional levels via binding to 3′-untranslation region (3′ UTR) inducing translation inhibition or mRNA degradation of their targets. MiR-590 plays a key role in cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and aging, and participates in development and progress of many diseases including cancer. Furthermore, miR-590 has different functions as a tumor suppressor or an oncogene by targeting various genes. This review is to summarize the structure, biological function and role of the miR-590 gene.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs)-based nanohybrid materials have gained great attention in multiple research applications, particularly in biomedical fields due to their unique physicochemical properties and outstanding biocompatibility compared to other nanomaterials. In this review, we focus on the most recent emerging developments including synthesis methods, in vivo imaging and in vitro biosensing applications. We also discuss these unresolved problematic and controversial issues facing their biomedical applications. Consequently, trends in approaches to improve the analytical performance of GQDs-based nanomaterials have also been put forward.