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BackgroundEBV-associated smooth muscle tumours (EBV-SMTs) are uncommon neoplasms associated with immunodeficiency. The pathogenesis of EBV-SMTs is poorly understood. IL-2-inducible T-cell kinase (ITK), a member of the Tec family of tyrosine kinases, is the predominant Tec kinase in T cells. Researchers have shown that ITK is involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and carcinogenesis, and the loss of ITK function due to mutation in patients can lead to EBV-associated lymphoproliferation. Multiple Epstein-Barr virus–associated smooth muscle tumours with ITK mutation have rarely been reported.Case presentationA 6-year-old female child was admitted to the hospital due to recurrent bilateral hip pain for more than one year. Tumours were found in the lung, near the intracranial cavernous sinus and in the lumbar spine and paraspinal soft tissues by CT and MRI. The patient underwent vertebral tumour biopsy, which suggested low-grade myogenic or inflammatory myofibroblastic tumours, so the patient was given three courses of chemotherapy without symptom relief or mass reduction. The patient underwent lumbar mass resection, the pathological results indicated EBV-SMT, and a novel germline homozygous deletion mutation in the ITK gene was detected. The deletion mutation in this gene has not yet been reported and the clinical significance of the pathogenicity of the variant is unknown. Intrabronchial mass resection was performed under fibre bronchoscopy, and the pathological results indicated EBV-SMT. No significant recurrence or progression was observed after more than 2 years of follow-up.ConclusionsWe present a rare case of multiple EBV-SMTs combined with ITK gene mutation. Some of the tumours were removed, and some were treated conservatively. There was no significant recurrence or progression after more than two years of follow-up. The optimal treatment regimen still needs to be further explored, and the relationship between ITK gene mutation at this locus and immunodeficiency and EBV-SMT warrants further investigation.

The expression of miR-126 and serine-arginine protein kinase 1 (SRPK1) are linked to tumor development; nevertheless, its role in the tumor growth and invasion of gastric cancer (GC) and the underlying mechanism have not been clarified. Here the expression and role of miR-126 and SRPK1 were investigated in GC tissues and cells by in vitro assay, and then targets of miR-126 were identified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. In this study, miR-126 expression was downregulated and associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis as well as SRPK1 expression. In vitro assay revealed that miR-126 obviously inhibited the proliferative and invasive capabilities of GC cells. The dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-126 targets the 3¢-UTR of SRPK1 and downregulates its expression. SRPK1 overexpression promoted cell migration and invasion. In conclusion, the reduced expression of miR-126 is suggestive of the risk of GC recurrence and metastasis, and miR-126 functions as a tumor suppressor by targeting SRPK1 expression in the development of GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child nutrition has always been a global concern. This study performed visual analysis of 1,398 child nutrition highly cited papers (HCPs) from 2009 to 2019. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and present the performances of authors, journals, countries, institutions, top cited papers; to explore the hot topics, prospects, and to propose the future research directions on child nutrition. We used bibliometric methods to conduct in-depth statistical analysis of HCPs on child nutrition, showing research progress, trends and hot spots. We included HCPs on child nutrition from the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) database February 7, 2020. Two tools, CiteSpace and VOSviewer, were used to conduct the bibliometric analyses. The results showed that, since 2011, the number of HCPs on child nutrition has increased rapidly. The top three contributors in this field were the USA, the UK and Canada. However, the contribution of developing countries was very limited. Intestinal microflora, food allergy, overweight and obesity were the three major research hotspots in this field. Results of this study provide valuable references for ongoing child nutrition related research, which may be interesting and noteworthy to the researchers involved.