Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES最新文献

Objective: To develop a highly sensitive and rapid nucleic acid detection method for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: We designed, developed, and manufactured an integrated disposable device for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid extraction and detection. The precision of the liquid transfer and temperature control was tested. A comparison between our device and a commercial kit for SARS-Cov-2 nucleic acid extraction was performed using real-time fluorescence reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The entire process, from SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid extraction to amplification, was evaluated.

Results: The precision of the syringe transfer volume was 19.2 ± 1.9 μL (set value was 20), 32.2 ± 1.6 (set value was 30), and 57.2 ± 3.5 (set value was 60). Temperature control in the amplification tube was measured at 60.0 ± 0.0 °C (set value was 60) and 95.1 ± 0.2 °C (set value was 95) respectively. SARS-Cov-2 nucleic acid extraction yield through the device was 7.10 × 10 ⁶ copies/mL, while a commercial kit yielded 2.98 × 10 ⁶ copies/mL. The mean time to complete the entire assay, from SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid extraction to amplification detection, was 36 min and 45 s. The detection limit for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid was 250 copies/mL.

Conclusion: The integrated disposable devices may be used for SARS-CoV-2 Point-of-Care test (POCT).

Objective: This study aimed to comprehensively analyze and compare the clinicopathological features and prognosis of Chinese patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low early breast cancer (BC) and HER2-IHC0 BC.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with HER2-negative BC ( N = 999) at our institution between January 2011 and December 2015 formed our study population. Clinicopathological characteristics, association between estrogen receptor (ER) expression and HER2-low, and evolution of HER2 immunohistochemical (IHC) score were assessed. Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the long-term survival outcomes (5-year follow-up) between the HER2-IHC0 and HER2-low groups.

Results: HER2-low BC group tended to demonstrate high expression of ER and more progesterone receptor (PgR) positivity than HER2-IHC0 BC group ( P < 0.001). The rate of HER2-low status increased with increasing ER expression levels (Mantel-Haenszel χ ² test, P < 0.001, Pearson's R = 0.159, P < 0.001). Survival analysis revealed a significantly longer overall survival (OS) in HER2-low BC group than in HER2-IHC0 group ( P = 0.007) in the whole cohort and the hormone receptor (HR)-negative group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of disease-free survival (DFS). The discordance rate of HER2 IHC scores between primary and metastatic sites was 36.84%.

Conclusion: HER2-low BC may not be regarded as a unique BC group in this population-based study due to similar clinicopathological features and prognostic roles.

Objective: The leptin receptor, encoded by the LEPR gene, is involved in tumorigenesis. A potential functional variant of LEPR, rs1137101 (Gln223Arg), has been extensively investigated for its contribution to the risk of digestive system (DS) cancers, but results remain conflicting rather than conclusive. Here, we performed a case-control study and subsequent meta-analysis to examine the association between rs1137101 and DS cancer risk.

Methods: A total of 1,727 patients with cancer (gastric/liver/colorectal: 460/480/787) and 800 healthy controls were recruited. Genotyping of rs1137101 was conducted using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay and confirmed using Sanger sequencing. Twenty-four eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis.

Results: After Bonferroni correction, the case-control study revealed that rs1137101 was significantly associated with the risk of liver cancer in the Hubei Chinese population. The meta-analysis suggested that rs1137101 is significantly associated with the risk of overall DS, gastric, and liver cancer in the Chinese population.

Conclusion: The LEPR rs1137101 variant may be a genetic biomarker for susceptibility to DS cancers (especially liver and gastric cancer) in the Chinese population.

Objective: To investigate changes in the urinary metabolite profiles of children exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during critical brain development and explore their potential link with the intestinal microbiota.

Methods: Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to determine ten hydroxyl metabolites of PAHs (OH-PAHs) in 36-month-old children. Subsequently, 37 children were categorized into low- and high-exposure groups based on the sum of the ten OH-PAHs. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to identify non-targeted metabolites in the urine samples. Furthermore, fecal flora abundance was assessed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing using Illumina MiSeq.

Results: The concentrations of 21 metabolites were significantly higher in the high exposure group than in the low exposure group (variable importance for projection > 1, P < 0.05). Most of these metabolites were positively correlated with the hydroxyl metabolites of naphthalene, fluorine, and phenanthrene ( r = 0.336-0.531). The identified differential metabolites primarily belonged to pathways associated with inflammation or proinflammatory states, including amino acid, lipid, and nucleotide metabolism. Additionally, these distinct metabolites were significantly associated with specific intestinal flora abundances ( r = 0.34-0.55), which were mainly involved in neurodevelopment.

Conclusion: Higher PAH exposure in young children affected metabolic homeostasis, particularly that of certain gut microbiota-derived metabolites. Further investigation is needed to explore the potential influence of PAHs on the gut microbiota and their possible association with neurodevelopmental outcomes.