Efficacy of borneol-gypsum in skin regeneration and pain control in toxic epidermal necrolysis:A case report

BACKGROUND Toxic epidermal necrolysis(TEN)is a life-threatening dermatological emergency mainly induced by drug hypersensitivity reactions.Standard management includes discontinuation of culprit drug and application of immunomodulatory therapy.However,mortality remains high due to complications like septic shock and multiorgan failures.Innovative approaches for skin care are crucial.This report introduces borneol-gypsum,a traditional Chinese drug but a novel dressing serving as an adjuvant of TEN therapy,might significantly improve skin conditions and patient outcomes in TEN.CASE SUMMARY A 38-year-old woman diagnosed with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis experienced gangrenous complications and motor nerve involvement.After initial treatment of high-dose corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide,symptom of foot drop improved,absolute eosinophil counts decreased,while limb pain sustained.Duloxetine was added to alleviate her symptom.Subsequently,TEN developed.Additional topical application of borneol-gypsum dressing not only protected the skin lesions from infection but also significantly eased localized pain.This approach demonstrated its merit in TEN management by promoting skin healing and potentially reducing infection risks.CONCLUSION Borneol-gypsum dressing is a promising adjuvant that could significantly improve TEN management,skin regeneration,and patient comfort.

LncRNA HCG27 Promotes Glucose Uptake Ability of HUVECs by MiR-378a-3p/MAPK1 Pathway

Objective:Gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)is the most common metabolic disorder during pregnancy.LncRNA HLA complex group 27(HCG27)plays a crucial role in various metabolic diseases.However,the relationship between lncRNA HCG27 and GDM is not clear.This study aimed to verify a competing endogenous RNA(ceRNA)interaction regulation axis of miR-378a-3p/mitogen-activated protein kinase 1(MAPK1)regulated by HCG27 in GDM.Methods:LncRNA HCG27 and miR-378a-3p were detected by RT-qPCR.The expression of MAPK1 in umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)was detected by RT-qPCR and that in the placenta by Western blotting.To explore the relationship among lncRNA HCG27,miR-378a-3p,MAPK1 and the glucose uptake ability of HUVECs,vector HCG27,si-HCG27,miR-378a-3p mimic and inhibitor were transfected to achieve overexpression and inhibition of HCG27 or miR-378a-3p.The interaction between miR-378a-3p and lncRNA HCG27 or MAPK1 was confirmed by the dual-luciferase reporter assay.Besides,glucose consumption by HUVECs was detected by the glucose assay kit.Results:HCG27 expression was significantly decreased in both the placenta and primary umbilical vein endothelial cells,while the expression of miR-378a-3p was significantly increased in GDM tissues,and the expression of MAPK1 was decreased in GDM tissues.This ceRNA interaction regulation axiswas proved to affect the glucose uptake function of HUVECs.The transfection of si-HCG27 could significantly reduce the expression of the MAPK1 protein.If the MAPK1 overexpression plasmid was transfected simultaneously with si-HCG27 transfection,the reduced glucose uptake in HUVECs resulting from the decrease in lncRNA HCG27 was reversed.MiR-378a-3p mimic can significantly reduce the mRNA expression of MAPK1 in HUVECs,whereas miR-378a-3p inhibitor can significantly increase the mRNA expression of MAPK1.The inhibition of miR-378a-3p could restore the decreased glucose uptake of HUVECs treated with si-HCG27.Besides,overexpression of lncRNA HCG27 could restore the glucose uptake ability of the palmitic acid-induced insulin resistance model of HUVECs to normal.Conclusion:LncRNA HCG27 promotes glucose uptake of HUVECs by miR-378a-3p/MAPK1 pathway,which may provide potential therapeutic targets for GDM.Besides,the fetal umbilical cord blood and umbilical vein endothelial cells collected from pregnant women with GDM after delivery could be used to detect the presence of adverse molecular markers of metabolic memory,so as to provide guidance for predicting the risk of cardiovascular diseases and health screening of offspring.

Novel COL4A3 synonymous mutation causes Alport syndrome coexistent with immunoglobulin A nephropathy in a woman:A case report

BACKGROUND Alport syndrome(AS)is an inherited disease of the glomerular basement membrane caused by mutations in genes encodingα3,α4,orα5 chains of type IV collagen.It manifests with hematuria or proteinuria,which is often accompanied by hearing impairments and ocular abnormalities.Histopathologically,AS shows mesangial proliferation and sometimes incidental immunoglobulin A(IgA)deposition.Hematuria or proteinuria is also a common presentation in patients with IgA nephropathy that makes it difficult to differentially diagnose AS and IgA nephropathy solely based on these clinical and pathological features.CASE SUMMARY Herein,we present the case of a 59-year-old female patient who was admitted to our hospital with persistent microscopic hematuria and occasional proteinuria that had lasted for>2 years.This patient had a familial history of renal disease and was diagnosed with autosomal dominant AS(ADAS)and IgA nephropathy based on the findings of renal biopsy as well as genetic testing performed using whole-exome sequencing,which suggested that the patient carried a novel heterozygous variation(c.888G>A:p.Gln296Gln)in the COL4A3 gene that enriches the mutation spectrum of ADAS.The proband received an angiotensin receptor blocker therapy after a definitive diagnosis was established.After one year of therapy,a significant reduction in proteinuria was observed.The number of microscopic red blood cells per high-power field decreased to one-quarter of the baseline levels.Renal function also maintained well during the follow-up.CONCLUSION Our case highlights the significance of performing kidney biopsy and genetic testing in the diagnosis of AS and familial IgA nephropathy.

Lipoic acid suppresses portal endotoxemia-induced steatohepatitis and pancreatic inflammation in rats

AIM: To examine the effect of α-lipoic acid (LA) on mild portal endotoxemia-induced steatohepatitis and associated pancreatic abnormalities in fructose-fed rats. METHODS: Rats were randomly assigned into two groups with a regular or 60% fructose-enriched diet for 8 wk. After fructose feeding for 4 wk, rats were further divided into four subgroups: with intraportal saline (F PV ), with intraportal saline plus administration of LA (F PV + LA ), with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infusion (F PLPS ), and with LPS infusion plus administration of LA (F PLPS + LA ). Rats were treated with LPS using intraportal infusion while LA was administered orally. Metabolite levels, superoxide levels, inflammatory markers, malondialdehyde content, glutathione content and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4 ) gene expression were all measured using standard biochemical techniques. Pancreatic insulin secretion was evaluated by a hyperglycemic clamp technique. Histology of liver and pancreas tissues were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Fructose-induced elevation in plasma C-reactive protein, amylase, superoxide, white blood cell count as well as in hepatic and pancreatic contents of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-6 were increased in animals treated with LPS and reversed with LA administration. The augmented hepatic gene expression of TLR4 in fructose-fed rats was further increased in those with intraportal LPS infusion, which was partially reversed by LA administration. Pathological examination showed inflammatory changes and leukocyte infiltration in hepatic and pancreatic islets of animals treated with LPS but were rarely observed in those with LA treatment. In addition to affects on the liver, impaired pancreatic insulin secretion seen in fructose-fed rats was deteriorated in with LPS treatment and partially reversed with LA administration. CONCLUSION: These data suggest LA could significantly suppress mild portal-endotoxemia but not fructoseinduced liver and pancreatic abnormalities in a rodent model for metabolic syndrome.

Efficient Coding Unit and Prediction Unit Decision Algorithm for Multiview Video Coding

To aim at higher coding efficiency for multiview video coding, the multiview video with a modified high efficiency video coding（MV-HEVC）codec is proposed to encode the dependent views.However, the computational complexity of MV-HEVC encoder is also increased significantly since MV-HEVC inherits all computational complexity of HEVC. This paper presents an efficient algorithm for reducing the high computational complexity of MV-HEVC by fast deciding the coding unit during the encoding process. In our proposal, the depth information of the largest coding units（LCUs） from independent view and neighboring LCUs is analyzed first. Afterwards, the analyzed results are used to early determine the depth for dependent view and thus achieve computational complexity reduction. Furthermore, a prediction unit（PU） decision strategy is also proposed to maintain the video quality. Experimental results demonstrate that our algorithm can achieve 57% time saving on average,while maintaining good video quality and bit-rate performance compared with HTM8.0.