Microbiologic risk factors of recurrent choledocholithiasis postendoscopic sphincterotomy

BACKGROUND Choledocholithiasis is a severe disorder that affects a significant portion of the world’s population.Treatment using endoscopic sphincterotomy(EST)has become widespread;however,recurrence post-EST is relatively common.The bile microbiome has a profound influence on the recurrence of choledocholithiasis in patients after EST;however,the key pathogens and their functions in the biliary tract remain unclear.AIM To investigate the biliary microbial characteristics of patients with recurrent choledocholithiasis post-EST,using next-generation sequencing.METHODS This cohort study included 43 patients,who presented with choledocholithiasis at the Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital between May and June 2020.The patients had undergone EST or endoscopic papillary balloon dilation and were followed up for over a year.They were divided into either the stable or recurrent groups.We collected bile samples and extracted microbial DNA for analysis through next-generation sequencing.Resulting sequences were analyzed for core microbiome and statistical differences between the diagnosis groups;they were examined using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway hierarchy level using analysis of variance.Correlation between the key genera and metabolic pathways in bile,were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation test.RESULTS The results revealed distinct clustering of biliary microbiota in recurrent choledocholithiasis.Higher relative abundances(RAs)of Fusobacterium and Neisseria(56.61%±14.81%vs 3.47%±1.10%,8.95%±3.42%vs 0.69%±0.32%,respectively)and the absence of Lactobacillus were observed in the bile of patients with recurrent disease,compared to that in stable patients.Construction of a microbiological co-occurrence network revealed a mutual relationship among Fusobacterium,Neisseria,and Leptotrichia,and an antagonistic relationship among Lactobacillales,Fusobacteriales,and Clostridiales.Functional prediction of biliary microbiome revealed that the loss of transcription and metabolic abilities may lead to recurrent choledocholithiasis.Furthermore,the prediction model based on the RA of Lactobacillales in the bile was effective in identifying the risk of recurrent choledocholithiasis(P=0.03).CONCLUSION We demonstrated differences in the bile microbiome of patients with recurrent choledocholithiasis compared to that in patients with stable disease,thereby adding to the current knowledge on its microbiologic etiology.

Population density modulates insect progenitive plasticity through the regulation of dopamine biosynthesis

Insect fecundity is a quantitative phenotype strongly affected by genotypes and the environment.However,interactions between genotypes and environmental factors in modulating insect fecundity remain largely unknown.This study investigated the im-pact of population density on the fecundity of Nilaparvata lugens(brown planthopper;BPH)carrying homozygous high-(HFG)or low-(LFG)fecundity homozygous geno-types.Under low population densities,the fecundity and population growth rate of both genotypes showed similar increasing trends across generations,while the trends between HFG and LFG under high population densities were opposite.Through a combination of temporal analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analyses on RNA-seq data of HFG and LFG under low and high population densities in the lst,3rd,and 5th gener-ations,we identified 2 gene modules that were associated with these density-dependent progenitive phenotypes.Four pathways related to the neural system were simultaneously enriched by the 2 gene modules.Furthermore,Nlpale,which encodes a tyrosine hydroxy-lase,was identified as a key gene.The RNA interference of this gene and manipulation of its downstream product dopamine significantly affected the basic and density-dependent progenitive phenotypes of BPH.These findings indicated that dopamine biosynthesis is the key regulatory factor that determines fecundity in response to density changes in dif-ferent BPH genotypes.Thus,this study provides insights into the interaction of a typical environmental factor and insect genotype during the process of population regulation.