Acute myocardial infarction in a child with myocardial bridge

BACKGROUND： Myocardial infarction （MI） is rare in children, and Kawasaki disease is now recognized as the main cause for MI. In this report, we present a child with MI caused by myocardial bridge （MB）.METHODS： A 7.5-year-old boy was admitted to Weifang People’s Hospital on September 16, 2008 for heart disease. By electrocardiogram, coronary CT angiography, emission computed tomography, and other examinations, he was initially diagnosed as having （1） acute inferior myocardial infarction and extensive anterior myocardial infarction; （2） fulminant myocarditis; or （3） coronary myocardial bridge. He was treated with oxygen, thrombolysis, myocardial nutrition, vitamin C （4.0 g per time）, dexamethasone （7.5 mg per time）, a large dose of gamma globulin, and interferon.RESULTS： Myocardial enzymes, liver function, C-reactive protein, and troponin-I returned to normal at 21 days after treatment. At 29 days, electrocardiogram indicated that II, III, aVF, V4 - V6 leads had abnormal Q wave, and ST-T changed. The patient was discharged.CONCLUSION： Myocardial bridge may be one of the causes of MI in children.

First report on establishment and characterization of the extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma cell line CBC2T-2

BACKGROUND Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma is extremely rare in clinical practice.These cells consist of both epithelial and mesenchymal cells.Patient-derived cell lines that maintain tumor characteristics are valuable tools for studying the molecular mechanisms associated with carcinosarcoma.However,cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma cell lines are not available in cell banks.AIM To establish and characterize a new extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma cell line,namely CBC2T-2.METHODS We conducted a short tandem repeat(STR)test to confirm the identity of the CBC2T-2 cell line.Furthermore,we assessed the migratory and invasive properties of the cells and performed clonogenicity assay to evaluate the ability of individual cells to form colonies.The tumorigenic potential of CBC2T-2 cells was tested in vivo using nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient(NOD/SCID)mice.The cells were injected subcutaneously and tumor formation was observed.In addition,immunohistochemical analysis was carried out to examine the expression of epithelial marker CK19 and mesenchymal marker vimentin in both CBC2T-2 cells and xenografts.The CBC2T-2 cell line was used to screen the potential therapeutic effects of various clinical agents in patients with cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma.Lastly,whole-exome sequencing was performed to identify genetic alterations and screen for somatic mutations in the CBC2T-2 cell line.RESULTS The STR test showed that there was no cross-contamination and the results were identical to those of the original tissue.The cells showed round or oval-shaped epithelioid cells and mesenchymal cells with spindle-shaped or elongated morphology.The cells exhibited a high proliferation ratio with a doubling time of 47.11 h.This cell line has migratory,invasive,and clonogenic abilities.The chromosomes in the CBC2T-2 cells were polyploidy,with numbers ranging from 69 to 79.The subcutaneous tumorigenic assay confirmed the in vivo tumorigenic ability of CBC2T-2 cells in NOD/SCID mice.CBC2T-2 cells and xenografts were positive for both the epithelial marker,CK19,and the mesenchymal marker,vimentin.These results suggest that CBC2T-2 cells may have both epithelial and mesenchymal characteristics.The cells were also used to screen clinical agents in patients with cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma,and a combination of paclitaxel and gemcitabine was found to be the most effective treatment option.CONCLUSION We established the first human cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma cell line,CBC2T-2,with stable biogenetic traits.This cell line,as a research model,has a high clinical value and would facilitate the understanding of the pathogenesis of cholangiocarcinoma sarcoma.

Comparative analysis of the Monochamus alternatus immune system

The pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus, is regarded as a notorious for- est pest in Asia, vectoring an invasive pathogenic nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which is known to cause pine wilt disease. However, little sequence information is available for this vector beetle. This hampered the research on its immune system. Based on the transcriptome of M. alternatus, we have identified and characterized 194 immunity-related genes in M. alternatus, and compared them with homologues molecules from other species known to exhibit immune responses against invading microbes. The lower number of puta- tive immunity-related genes in M. alternatus were attributed to fewer C-type lectin, serine protease （SP） and anti-microbial peptide （AMP） genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that M. alternatus had a unique recognition gene, galectin3, orthologues of which were not identified in Tribolium castaneum, Drosophila melanogastor, Anopheles gambiae and Apis mellifera. This suggested a lineage-specific gene evolution for coleopteran insects. Our study provides the comprehensive sequence resources of the immunity-related genes ofM. alternatus, presenting valuable information for better understanding of the molecular mechanism of innate immunity processes in M. alternatus against B. xylophilus.