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Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of one-stage posterior lesion removal and internal spinal fixation in patients with lumbar Brucellosis spondylitis., Methods: The clinical data of 24 patients admitted from October 2017 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, 2 patients were lost to follow-up at 10 months after surgery, at the final 22 cases were included in the study, including 13 males and 9 females with an average age of (52.00±6.89) years old, were treated with one-stage posterior lesion removal and internal spinal fixation. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, follow-up time, erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) and C-reactive protein(CRP) before and after operation were recorded. The pain visual analogue scale(VAS), Oswestry disability index(ODI), the Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA) score for neurofunction, American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA) spinal cord injury grade and modified MacNab criteria were ussed to evaluate the efficacy., Results: All patients were followed up from 12 to 30 months with an average of (17.41±4.45) months. The operation time was 70 to 155 min with an average of (116.59±24.32) min;the intraoperative bleeding volume was 120 to 520 ml with an average of (275.00±97.53) ml. CRP and ESR levels decreased more significantly at 1 week and at the final follow-up than preoperative levels( P <0.05). VAS, JOA score and ODI at 1 week and at the latest follow-up were more significantly improved than preoperative results( P <0.05). There was no significant difference between ASIA preoperative and 1 week after operation( P >0.05), and a significant difference between preoperative and last follow-up( P <0.05). In the final follow-up, 21 patients had excellent efficacy, 1 patient had fair, and there was no recurrence during the follow-up., Conclusion: One-stage transpedicular lesion removal and internal spinal fixation, with few incisions and short operation time, helps the recovery of neurological function, and the prognosis meets the clinical requirements, which can effectively control Brucella spondylitis.

Objective: To analyze the difference in clinical efficacy of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) under Quadrant channel system combined with microscope and percutaneous pedicle screw in the treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis., Methods: A total of 114 patients with single-segment degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis from June 2015 to February 2019, were divided into three groups according to the surgical methods, such as the MIS-TLIF under the microscope surgery group ( microscope group), MIS-TLIF combined with percutaneous pedicle screw technique surgery group(percutaneous group) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion surgery group (open group). In the microscope group, there were 12 males and 26 females, aged from 42 to 83 years with an average of (63.29±9.09) years. In the percutaneous group, there were 16 males and 22 females, aged from 45 to 82 years with an average of (63.37±7.50) years. In the open group, there were 12 males and 26 females, aged from 51 to 82 years with an average of (63.76±8.21) years. The general conditions of operation, such as operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, length of surgical incision, frequency of intraoperative fluoroscopy and postoperative time of lying in bed were recorded to analyze the differences in surgical related indicators. Visual analogue scale (VAS) of waist and leg pain in preoperative and postoperative period (3 days, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months) were recorded to evaluate pain remission;Oswestry Disability Index(ODI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score were recorded to evaluate the recovery of waist and leg function on preoperative and postoperative 12 months. The lumbar spondylolisthesis rate and intervertebral height at 12 months after operation were recorded to evaluate the reduction of spondylolisthesis. The Siepe intervertebral fusion standard was used to analyze the intervertebral fusion rate at 12 months after operation., Results: ①All 114 patients were followed up more than 1 year, and no complications related to incision infection occurred. In the microscope group, there was 1 case of subcutaneous effusion 8 days after operation. After percutaneous puncture and drainage, waist compression, and then the healing was delayed. In the percutaneous group, 2 cases of paravertebral muscle necrosis occurred on the side of decompression, and the healing was delayed after debridement. In open group, there was 1 case of intraoperative dural tear, which was packed with free adipose tissue during the operation. There was no postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage and other related complications.① Compared with microscope group, percutaneous group increased in operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative wound drainage, surgical incision length, intraoperative fluoroscopy times, and postoperative bed rest time. In open group, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative wound drainage, surgical incision length, and postoperative bed rest time increased, but the intraoperative fluoroscopy time decreased. Compared with percutaneous group, the intraoperative blood loss, wound drainage, surgical incision length, and postoperative bed rest time in open group increased, but operative time and the intraoperative fluoroscopy time decreased( P <0.05). ②ODI and JOA scores of the three groups at 12 months after operation were improved compared with those before operation ( P <0.05), but there was no significant difference between the three group( P >0.05). ③Compared with microscope group, the VAS of low back pain in percutaneous group increased at 3 days after operation, and VAS of low back pain in open group increased at 3 days, and 12 month after operation. Compared with percutaneous group, the VAS low back pain score of the open group increased at 3 months after operation ( P <0.05). ④ The lumbar spondylolisthesis rate of the three groups of patients at 12 months afrer operation was decreased compared with that before operation( P <0.05), and the intervertebral heigh was increased compared with that before operation( P <0.05), however, there was no significant difference among three groups at 12 months afrer operation( P >0.05). ⑤ There was no significant difference between three groups in the lumbar fusion rate at 12 months afrer operation( P >0.05)., Conclusion: The MIS-TLIF assisted by microscope and the MIS-TLIF combined with percutaneous pedicle screw are safe and effective to treat the degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis with single-segment, and the MIS-TLIF assisted by microscope may be more invasive, cause less blood loss and achieve better clinical efficacy.

Dysfunction caused by mGluR5 expression or activation is an important mechanism in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Early clinical studies on mGluR5 negative allosteric modulators have shown some limitations. It is therefore necessary to find a more specific approach to block mGluR5-mediated neurotoxicity. Here, we determined the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit NR2B in mGluR5-mediated ER stress and DNA damage. In vitro study, rotenone-induced ER stress and DNA damage were accompanied by an increase in mGluR5 expression and overexpressed or activated mGluR5 with agonist (RS)-2-chloro-5-hydroxyphenylglycine (CHPG) induced ER stress and DNA damage, while blocking mGluR5 with antagonist 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl) pyridine hydrochloride (MPEP) alleviated the effect. Furthermore, the damage caused by CHPG was blocked by NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801. Additionally, rotenone or CHPG increased the p-Src and p-NR2B, which was inhibited by MPEP. Blocking p-Src or NR2B with PP2 or CP101,606 alleviated CHPG-induced ER stress and DNA damage. Overactivation of mGluR5 accompanied with the increase of p-Src and p-NR2B in the ER stress and DNA damage was found in rotenone-induced PD rat model. These findings suggest a new mechanism wherein mGluR5 induces ER stress and DNA damage through the NMDA receptor and propose NR2B as the molecular target for therapeutic strategy for PD., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.)

Contrary to conventional Tamm plasmon (TP) absorbers of which narrow absorptance peaks will shift toward short wavelengths (blueshift) as the incident angle increases for both transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) polarizations, here we theoretically and experimentally achieve nonreciprocal absorption in a planar photonic heterostructure composed of an isotropic epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) slab and a truncated photonic crystal for TM polarization. This exotic phenomenon results from the interplay between ENZ and material loss. And the boundary condition across the ENZ interface and the confinement effect provided by the TP can enhance the absorption in the ENZ slab greatly. As a result, a strong and nonreciprocal absorptance peak is observed experimentally with a maximum absorptance value of 93% in an angle range of 60∼70°. Moreover, this TP absorber shows strong angle-independence and polarization-dependence. As the characteristics above are not at a cost of extra nanopatterning, this structure is promising to offer a practical design in narrowband thermal emitter, highly sensitive biosensing, and nonreciprocal nonlinear optical devices.

Targeting mGluR5 has been an attractive strategy to modulate glutamate excitotoxicity for neuroprotection. Although human clinical trials using mGluR5 negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) have included some disappointments, recent investigations have added several more attractive small molecules to this field, providing a promise that the identification of more additional strategies to modulate mGluR5 activity might be potentially beneficial for the advancement of PD treatment. Here, we determined the role of the interacting partner CAL (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator-associated ligand) in mGluR5-mediated protection in vitro and in vivo. In astroglial C6 cells, CAL deficiency blocked (S)-3, 5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG)-elicited p-AKT and p-ERK1/2, subsequently prevented group I mGluRs-mediated anti-apoptotic protection, which was blocked by receptor antagonist 1-aminoindan-1, 5-dicarboxylic acid (AIDA), and PI3K or MEK inhibitor LY294002 or U0126. In rotenone-treated MN9D cells, both CAL and mGluR5 expressions were decreased in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and the correlation between these 2 proteins was confirmed by lentivirus-delivered CAL overexpression and knockdown. Moreover, CAL coupled with mGluR5 upregulated mGluR5 protein expression by inhibition of ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation to suppress mGluR5-mediated p-JNK and to protect against cell apoptosis. Additionally, CAL also inhibited rotenone-induced glutamate release to modulate mGluR5 activity. Furthermore, in the rotenone-induced rat model of PD, AAV-delivered CAL overexpression attenuated behavioral deficits and dopaminergic neuronal death, while CAL deficiency aggravated rotenone toxicity. On the other hand, the protective effect of the mGluR5 antagonist MPEP was weakened by knocking down CAL. In vivo experiments also confirmed that CAL inhibited ubiquitination-proteasome-dependent degradation to modulate mGluR5 expression and JNK phosphorylation. Our findings show that CAL protects against cell apoptosis via modulating mGluR5 activity, and may be a new molecular target for an effective therapeutic strategy for PD.