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This study aimed to investigate the effects of Elephantopus scaber extract on the GIFT (genetic improvement of farmed tilapia) strain of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. A total of 800 tilapia with an initial body weight of 1.34 ± 0.09 g each were randomly divided into five groups. The tilapia in the control group (E0 group) were fed on a basal diet only. Meanwhile, tilapia in the four experimental groups were fed on a basal diet supplemented with 1 g/kg (E1 group), 3 g/kg (E2 group), 5 g/kg (E3 group), and 7 g/kg (E4 group) of E. scaber extract for 10 weeks. Results showed that the survival rate was higher in the experimental groups than in the control group. Compared with the control group, some growth parameters (FW, WGR, SGR, VSI, and HSI) were significantly improved in the E1 group and E2 group. The crude lipid content in the dorsal muscle and liver was lower in the E1 group than in the control group. After E. scaber extract supplementation, activities of immunity-related enzymes (ACP, AKP, T-AOC, SOD, CAT, GSH-Px and LZM) in plasma, liver, spleen and head kidney, and expressions of immunity-related genes (IL-1β, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and CCL-3) in liver, spleen and head kidney showed various degrees of improvement, while MDA content and Hsp70 expression level were decreased. The survival rate of tilapia increased in all the supplementation groups after Streptococcus agalactiae treatment. E. scaber extract addition changed the species composition, abundance, and diversity of intestinal microbiota in tilapia. These results demonstrate that E. scaber extract supplementation in diet can improve the growth, immunity, and disease resistance of GIFT against S. agalactiae. E. scaber extract supplementation can also change intestinal microbiota and reduce crude lipid content in dorsal muscle and liver. The above indicators show that the optimal dose of E. scaber extract for GIFT is 1 g/kg.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of dietary trehalose on growth, muscle composition, non-specific immune responses, gene expression and desiccation resistance of juvenile red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus). A total of 540 (body weight of 0.41 ± 0.05) crayfish were randomly divided into six groups for a feeding experiment. Six diets with trehalose levels at 0 (Diet 1), 1 (Diet 2), 2 (Diet 3), 5 (Diet 4), 10 (Diet 5) and 15 (Diet 6) g kg−1 were prepared to feed juvenile red claw crayfish for 8 weeks. The results showed that the weight gain rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) of crayfish in Diet 4, Diet 5 and Diet 6 groups were significantly improved compared with the control group (Diet 1). Muscle crude protein contents of crayfish fed Diet 4, Diet 5 and Diet 6 were significantly higher than those of the control group. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) in hepatopancreas and hemolymph of crayfish for Diet 4, Diet 5, and Diet 6 groups were significantly increased while malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly reduced when compared with the control. The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities in the hepatopancreas and hemolymph of crayfish fed Diet 5 and Diet 6 were significantly higher than those in the control group. However, acid phosphatase (ACP) activity was not significantly different among all experimental groups. The hepatopancreas and intestine trehalose contents of crayfish showed an upward trend with the increase of dietary trehalose levels. Compared with the control group, supplementation of 5–15 g kg−1 trehalose in the feed up-regulated the expression levels of GPx, C-type lysozyme (C-LZM), antilipolysacchride factor (ALF), facilitated trehalose transporter homolog isoform X2 (Tret1-2) and facilitated trehalose transporter isoform X4 (Tret1-4) mRNA. In addition, supplementation of 5–15 g kg−1 trehalose in the feed could improve the survival rate of red claw crayfish under desiccation stress. These results suggested that supplementation of 5–15 g kg−1 trehalose in feed could significantly improve the growth performance, muscle protein, non-specific immunity and desiccation resistance of juvenile red claw crayfish.

Red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) is an important freshwater shrimp species worldwide with enormous economic value. Waterless transportation is an inherent feature of red claw crayfish transportation. However, the high mortality of red claw crayfish is a severe problem in the aquaculture of crayfish after waterless transportation. In this study, we investigated the responses of the hepatopancreas from the red claw crayfish undergoing air exposure stress and normal conditions on transcriptome levels. We used Illumina-based RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to perform a transcriptome analysis from the hepatopancreas of red claw crayfish challenged by air exposure. An average of 57,148,800 clean reads per library was obtained, and 33,567 unigenes could be predicted and classified according to their homology with matches in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) non-redundant protein sequences (Nr), Gene Ontology (GO), a manually annotated and reviewed protein sequence database (Swiss-Prot), protein families (Pfam), Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) of proteins, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. 690 and 3407 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the two stress stages of the red claw crayfish. More DEGs were identified in 12 h, indicating that gene expressions were largely changed at 12 h. Some immune-related pathways and genes were identified according to KEGG and GO enrichment analysis. A total of 12 DEGs involved in immune response and trehalose mechanism were verified by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The results indicated that the red claw crayfish might counteract the stress of air exposure at the transcriptomic level by increasing expression levels of antioxidant-, immune-, and trehalose metabolism-related genes. These transcriptome results from the hepatopancreas provide significant insights into the influence mechanism of air exposure to the trehalose mechanism and immune response in the red claw crayfish.

The difference in prognosis between genders after abdominoperineal resection (APR) for low rectal cancer (LRC) is unclear. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes between genders in patients with LRC who underwent curative APR. This retrospective cohort study used a database of consecutive colorectal resections. Patients who received curative APR with LRC were grouped according to their gender. Female patients were frequency-matched 1:1 on American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage to male patients. Overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and their independent risk factors were examined. A total of 140 patients with APR for LRC were included after matching: 70 (50.0%) males and 70 (50.0%) females. No significant differences were found between the groups in terms of age, operation methods, AJCC stage, and adjuvant therapy (all P > 0.05). Median follow-up was 39 (range: 3–128) months. Male gender was independently associated with worse OS (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 2.755, 95% CI: 1.507–5.038, P = 0.001) and worse DFS (adjusted HR = 2.440, 95% CI: 1.254–4.746, P = 0.009). Subgroup analysis revealed that female patients with stage III disease had better OS (P = 0.001) and DFS (P

Air exposure exerts unavoidable environmental stress during the transport of crayfish. This study evaluated survival, histological structure, non-specific immunity and gene expression in red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) under air exposure. Survival experiment showed that crayfish under air exposure started dying after 24 h, and survival rate decreased to 62.2% and 20.0% after 36 h and 48 h respectively. In the second experiment, crayfish divided into six groups with different air exposure time (0 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h and 36 h). Crayfish maintained in the normal culture environment were used as control (0 h), whereas other five groups were placed in tanks without water. Histopathological study found that air exposure resulted in swelling and vacuolation of hepatocytes and enterocytes. Total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) increased at 4–8 h short-term air exposure, and then decreased. T-AOC in hepatopancreas was suppressed significantly at 36 h exposure. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in both hepatopancreas and hemolymph raised after 4 h and then reduced to the initial level. Expression of antioxidant genes (SOD, GPx and Trx 1), immune-related genes (C-LZM, CRU-2, and SERPIN3), anti-stress related genes (HSP70 and HSP90) were induced after short-term air exposure, and then down-regulated. Expression of SERP, HSP21 and NFKBIA maintained high levels during 36 h air exposure, indicating that these genes play vital roles in the defense mechanism against air exposure. In brief, our study demonstrates that air exposure causes pathological changes in hepatopancreas and intestines, and altered antioxidant and immune status in C. quadricarinatus. The suppressed antioxidant status, leading to tissue oxidative damage, is one of the main reason for death of crayfish under long-term air exposure.

International audience; AbstractThioredoxins (Trxs) play an important role in defending against oxidative stress and keeping disulfide bonding correct to maintain protein function. Edwardsiella piscicida, a severe fish pathogen, has been shown to encode several thioredoxins including TrxA, TrxC, and TrxH, but their biological roles remain unknown. In this study, we characterized TrxH of E. piscicida (named TrxHEp) and examined its expression and function. TrxHEp is composed of 125 residues and possesses typical thioredoxin H motifs. Expression of trxHEp was upregulated under conditions of oxidative stress, iron starvation, low pH, and during infection of host cells. trxHEp expression was also regulated by ferric uptake regulator (Fur), an important global regulatory of E. piscicida. Compared to the wild type TX01, a markerless trxHEp in-frame mutant strain TX01∆trxH exhibited markedly compromised tolerance of the pathogen to hydrogen peroxide, acid stress, and iron deficiency. Deletion of trxHEp significantly retarded bacterial biofilm growth and decreased resistance against serum killing. Pathogenicity analysis shows that the inactivation of trxHEp significantly impaired the ability of E. piscicida to invade host cells, reproduce in macrophages, and infect host tissues. Introduction of a trans-expressed trxH gene restored the lost virulence of TX01∆trxH. There is likely to be a complex relationship of functional complementation or expression regulation between TrxH and another two thioredoxins, TrxA and TrxC, of E. piscicida. This is the first functional report of TrxH in fish pathogens, and the findings suggest that TrxHEp is essential for coping with adverse circumstances and contributes to host infection of E. piscicida.

Alpinia officinarum is a medicinal plant and food. Its dried rhizome has been widely used for the relief of symptoms such as stomach aches, colds, ulcer and diarrhea for hundreds of years. Recent pharmacological studies showed it has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, antidiabetic, anti-ulcer, anti-diarrhea, antiemetic, analgesia, anticoagulation, antitumor and antivitiligo effects. In this study, we summarized the current knowledge about its botanical resources, ethanopharmacological function, chemical constituents, pharmacologies and pharmacokinetics, safety and toxicity, and clinical application.

Background: The prognosis of middle-aged patients with CRC treated by laparoscopic resection (LR) is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the survival outcomes of LR compared with open resection (OR) for patients with CRC and 45-65 years of age.Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the data from a database of all consecutive colorectal resections performed between January 2009 and December 2017. Propensity score matching (PSM) was done to handle the selection bias based on age, gender, body mass index (BMI), tumor location, AJCC stage, and admission year. Univariate and multivariate COX regression model was used to identify risk factors of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).Results: After PSM, 217 patients were included in each group. There were no differences in OS and PFS between the two groups (all P>0.05). There was less blood loss for LR (PConclusions: In middle-aged patients with CRC, OR and LR have similar survival outcomes and complications.

Background A model was constructed using clinical and serum variables to discriminate between chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with and without significant necroinflammatory activity (score 4–18 vs. score 0–3). Methods Consecutive CHB patients who underwent liver biopsy were divided into two sequential groups: a training group (n = 401) and a validation group (n = 401). Multivariate analysis identified alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyltransferase, prothrombin time and albumin as independent predictors of necroinflammatory activity. Results The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.826 for the training group and 0.847 for the validation group. Using a cut-off score of H ≤ 0.375, significant necroinflammatory activity (score 4–18) was excluded with high accuracy [78.2% negative predictive value (NPV), 72% positive predictive value (PPV), and 90.8% sensitivity] in 238 (59.4%) of 401 patients in the training group and with the same certainty (88.1% NPV, 61.2% PPV, and 95.1% sensitivity) among 204 (50.9%) of 401 patients in the validation group. Similarly, applying a cut-off score of H > 0.720, significant necroinflammatory activity was correctly identified with high accuracy (90.8% PPV, 57.7% NPV, and 92.0% specificity) in 150 (37.4%) of 401 patients in the training group and with the same certainty (91.8% PPV, 64.6% NPV, and 95.4% specificity) in 188 (46.9%) of 401 patients in the validation group. Conclusions A predictive model based on easily accessible variables identified CHB patients with and without significant necroinflammatory activity with a high degree of accuracy. This model may decrease the need for liver biopsy for necroinflammatory activity grading in 72.1% of CHB patients.

OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore the correlation of oxidative stress (OxS) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and the disease severity with HBV genotypes and drug resistance mutations. METHODS A total of 296 patients with CHB were enrolled into the study. PCR-reverse dot-blot hybridization was used to detect the HBV genotypes (B, C, and D) and the drug resistance-causing HBV mutant genes. In addition, the total oxidative stress (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) were determined, and oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated and compared. RESULTS Serum levels of TOS and OSI, the B/C ratio, and drug resistance mutation rate were increased along with the elevated disease severity degree (CHB

This study was aimed at investigating the cellular responses of Penaeus monodon haemocytes to poly I:C stimulation using flow cytometric assay. Total haemocyte count (THC), percentages of different haemocyte subpopulations [hyaline cells (HC), semigranular cells (SGC) and granular cells (GC)], non-specific esterase activity (EA), total reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) production, nitric oxide (NO) production, apoptotic haemocyte ratio and plasmic phenoloxidase (PO) activity were determined in poly I:C-injected shrimp. Results showed that poly I:C at a low dose (5 μg shrimp−1) caused obvious increases in THC, GC proportion, ROS/RNS production and NO production, but had no significant effect on EA, apoptosis and PO activity. In the early stage of poly I:C injection at a high dose (20 μg shrimp−1), THC and GC proportion improvements could also be observed, suggesting that GC might be induced to release from hemocytopoietic or other tissues to participate in immune response, and this subpopulation might be the main cell type involved in the cellular defence against virus. In the later period, proportions of both GC and SGC reduced paralleled by THC reduction, indicating that depletion of GC and SGC was mainly contributed to the reduced count of circulating haemocyte. Obvious increases in ROS/RNS production and NO production were induced in haemocyte of shrimp under a high dose of poly I:C stimulation, but only slight rise of EA and suppression of PO activity could be observed in poly I:C-stimulated shrimp, suggesting that ROS/RNS-dependent system was vital in the immune defence of shrimp against virus. On the other hand, increase of apoptotic haemocyte ratio and THC reduction were presented after the drastic increases of ROS/RNS and NO productions, implying that the stimulated ROS/RNS might be excess and harmful, and was the major factor for the haemocyte apoptosis and depletion. THC recovered after 48 h injection, while haemocyte apoptosis also returned to the control level, suggesting that apoptosis might be contributed to eliminate damaged, weak or infected haemocytes to renew the circulating haemocytes, and it could be considered as an important defending strategy against virus.

Edwardsiella piscicida is a leading pathogen that threats seawater and fresh aquaculture, in which the emergence and prevalence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a tricky problem. Currently, the pathogenesis of E. piscicida remains unclear, some new pathogenic factors need to be identified. Serine permease and dehydratase exist ubiquitously in microorganisms and participate in pathogenicity, but their functions in E. piscicida remain unknown. In this study, a serine permease YhaO and serine dehydratase YhaM were characterized in E. piscicida. yhaOEp and yhaMEp are expressed in the form of a bicistronic operon. YhaOEp possesses multiple transmembrane structures and YhaMEp is predicted to be located in the cytoplasm. To explore the biological roles of yhaOEp and yhaMEp, markerless in-frame mutant strains, TX01ΔyhaO and TX01ΔyhaM, were constructed, respectively. TX01, TX01ΔyhaO, and TX01ΔyhaM exhibited similar growth under normal and stress conditions, which indicates yhaOEp and yhaMEp are irrelevant to adversity. However, TX01ΔyhaO and TX01ΔyhaM displayed markedly reduced resistance against antibiotics, compared to TX01. Further studies indicated that the yhaOEp mutation damaged E. piscicida's ability to maintain membrane integrity and biofilm formation, decreased its adhesion and invasion to non-phagocytic FG cells, weakened the survival and proliferation in macrophage cells, and decreased bacterial dissemination in fish tissues. Complementary strain TX01ΔyhaOC restored these phenotypes of TX01ΔyhaO. The inactivation of yhaMEp has no effect on bacterial pathogenicity to FG cells and macrophage cells, but in vivo experiment showed that TX01ΔyhaM exhibited attenuated capability of bacterial dissemination in fish tissues, compared to TX01. Taken together, our findings demonstrate for the first time that YhaO-YhaM is requisite for full pathogenicity of E. piscicida to host cells and host tissues, and provide new insights into the pathogenesis of E. piscicida.

Nonylphenol (NP) is considered as one of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment. Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei is the predominant species in China, which is frequently affected by environmental pollutants. However, potential toxicity mechanism of NP in shrimp has not been comprehensively studied. To explore the physiological changes and molecular mechanism involved in NP exposure of shrimp, we analyzed histological alterations, apoptosis and transcriptional responses of L.vannamei subjected to NP. Results indicated that significant changes in the histoarchitecture of the gills were observed after NP exposure for 3, 12 and 48 h. Apoptosis was also detected in a time-dependent manner. Numerous differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained at 3 h, 12 h and 48 h after exposure. On the basis of the expression patterns over the time course, these DEGs were classified into 12 clusters. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of these DEGs was carried out and a dynamic and global view was obtained in shrimp after NP exposure on a transcriptome level. In addition, 15 DEGs involved in immune response, apoptosis, DNA repair, osmoregulation etc. were selected for qRT-PCR validation. The expression patterns of these DEGs kept a well consistent with the high-throughput data at different timepoints, which confirmed the accuracy and reliability of the transcriptome data. All the results demonstrated that NP exposure might lead to impairments of biological functions in gills, alter immune and antioxidant response, compromise DNA repair and anti-apoptosis abilities of shrimp, cause severe histopathological changes and eventually trigger apoptosis. The present study enriched the information on the toxicity mechanism of crustaceans in response to NP exposure.

Morphology and immune functions of Penaeus monodon haemocytes were analysed by flow cytometry (FCM). Basing on the relative size and granularity, there are three types of haemocyte identified by FCM, including hyaline cells (HC), semigranular cells (SGC) and granular cells (GC). GC and SGC were significantly larger than HC. GC contained more granules in the cytoplasm than the two other types. SGC were the most abundant cells, while HC were the least. The mean total apoptotic cell ratio was 5.09 % in the fresh shrimp haemocytes. SGC contributed most to the phagocytic activity, and HC contributed least, probably due to the great difference of percentage. GC had most mass of mitochondria and lysosome, and HC contained least. Defined by different characteristic of lysosomal mass, three subsets of haemocytes were observed. GC were most active in non-induced and zymosan-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, while HC showed lowest oxidative activity. Both non-induced and zymosan-induced esterase activity (EA) in GC were higher than those in SGC and HC. The present flow cytometric analysis clearly demonstrated the variation in morphologic and immunological characterisation among the three haemocyte subpopulations. The facts that SGC account for most of the number of circulating haemocyte, while GC contain most organelles in relation to energy supply and immune defence, and have highest immune activites, suggesting that GC and SGC are the main haemocyte types involved in the cellular defence of P. monodon.

BACKGROUND The risk factors for lymph node skip metastasis (LNSM) have not been thoroughly clarified in patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to identify the risk factors for LNSM in CRC patients who underwent laparoscopic radical resection with D3 lymphadenectomy. METHODS This retrospective cohort study included a total of 167 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic radical resection with D3 lymphadenectomy for CRC between April 2005 and June 2017. The patients were sorted into the LNSM-positive (skip+ group) and LNSM-negative (skip- group) groups. Logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors for LNSM. RESULTS Compared with the skip- group, the frequency of tumour size

Aeromonas species often cause disease in farmed fish. In the present study, dominant bacteria were isolated from diseased crucian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). Based on this, a bacterial isolate was tentatively named CFJY-623. This isolate was identified as Aeromonas veronii based on analysis of its morphological, physiological, and biochemical features, as well as 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences. Six virulence genes related to pathogenicity including aerolysin, cytotonic enterotoxins, elastase, glycerophospholipid: cholesterol acyltransferase, lipase, and serine protease were identified in this A. veronii isolate. The median lethal dosage (LD50) of the CFJY-623 isolate for crucian carp was determined as 1.31 × 107 CFU/mL. Artificial experimental infection showed that the CFJY-623 isolate caused considerable histological lesions in the fish, including tissue cell degeneration, necrosis, and inflammatory cell infiltrating. Drug sensitivity testing showed that the isolate was susceptible to aminoglycosides, carbapenemes, and nitrofurans. Exploring its growing features showed that this isolate exhibited a high level of environmental adaptability. These results provided a scientific basis for the identification of A. veronii and treatment for fish infected by this pathogen.

Background H7N9 avian influenza is an infection of public health concern, in part because of its high mortality rate and pandemic potential. Aims To describe the clinical features of H7N9 avian influenza and the response to treatment. Methods Clinical, radiological and histopathological data, and treatment-related of H7N9-infected patients hospitalised during 2014-2017 were extracted and analysed. Results A total of 17 H7N9 patients (three females; mean age, 58.4 ± 13.7 years) was identified; of these six died. All patients presented with fever and productive cough; four patients had haemoptysis and 13 had chest distress and/or shortness of breath. Early subnormal white blood cell count and elevation of serum liver enzymes were common. Multilobar patchy shadows, rapid progression to ground-glass opacities, air bronchograms and consolidation were the most common imaging findings. Histopathological examination of lung tissue of three patients who died showed severe alveolar epithelial cell damage, with inflammatory exudation into the alveolar space and hyaline membrane formation; widened alveolar septae, prominent inflammatory cell infiltration; and hyperplasia of pneumocytes. Viral inclusions were found in the lung tissue of two patients. All patients received antiviral drugs (oseltamivir ± peramivir). Four patients carried the rs12252-C/C interferon-induced transmembrane protein-3 (IFITM3) genotype, while the others had the C/T genotype. Conclusions H7N9 virus infection causes human influenza-like symptoms, but may rapidly progress to severe pneumonia and even death. Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of H7N9 infection in high-risk patients. The presence of the IFITM3 rs12252-C genotype may predict severe illness.

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a highly polymorphic region of the vertebrate genome that plays a critical role in initiating immune responses towards invading pathogens. It is well known that MHC I molecules play a central role in the immune response to viruses. However, rare literatures were reported the role of MHC I in the resistance to intracellular bacteria. Sequences of MHC Iα were identified in multiple teleost species, including Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), however, the immunological function of MHC Iα remain largely unknown. In this study, we examined the expression profile and biological activity of an MHC Iα homologue, PoMHC Iα, from P. olivaceus. Structural analysis showed that PoMHC Iα possesses conserved structural characteristics of MHC Iα proteins, including MHC_I domain, IGc1 domain, transmembrane region. Expression of PoMHC Iα was upregulated in a time-dependent manner by extracellular and intracellular bacterial pathogens and viral pathogen infection. Different expression patterns were exhibited in response to the infection of different types of microbial pathogens in different immune tissues. Recombinant PoMHC Iα increased the capability of host cells to defense against intracellular pathogen Edwardsiella tarda infection and enhanced the expression of immune related genes. The knockdown of PoMHC Iα attenuated the ability of cells to eliminate E. tarda, which was sustained by the in vivo results that overexpression of PoMHC Iα promoted the host defense against invading E. tarda. Antigen uptake assay indicated PoMHC Iα participated in cells antigen presentation. Collectively, this study is the first report that MHC Iα plays an important role in immune defense against intracellular bacterial pathogen in teleost. Taken together, these findings add new insights into the biological function of teleost MHC Iα and emphasize the importance of MHC I gene products for the control of E. tarda infection.

Introduction: In spring 2013, an epidemic caused by novel H7N9 virus broke out in Mainland China and caused mild to fatal clinical symptoms in the infected subjects. To further gain knowledge of this virus, authors reported the two human cases of H7N9 infection identified in Taizhou City in 2014. Clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, and interferon-induced transmembrane protein-3 (IFITM3)-rs12252 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis were studied that maybe valuable for early diagnosis and treatment of individuals with H7N9 infection. Case Presentation: The study included two patients infected with H7N9 virus. A 53-year-old, single male (case 1) and a 73-year-old retired male (case 2) were admitted due to fever, cough, short of breath, and progressive respiratory distress. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan examinations revealed ground-glass opacities (GGOs) and pulmonary lesions in the right lung lobe in both patients. Both of them were confirmed to be infected with H7N9 virus based on the results of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by Taizhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). SNP genotyping of IFITM3-rs12252 was performed for the two cases and the results were analyzed, the laboratory test showed that both of the patients carried the T/C genotype. After treatment, the two patients recovered from the H7N9 infection and were discharged in good health condition. Conclusions: The current study results suggested that together with chest images and laboratory test results, IFITM3-rs12252 genotype analysis might help to predict the severity of H7N9 infection that is valuable for the treatment and management of patients with H7N9 infection.

Hemocyte types of the Macrobrachium prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii were identified using the methods of flow cytometry and light microscopy. The activities of endoenzymes including peroxidase (POD), phenoloxidase (PO), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in hemocytes were analyzed by cytochemical and biochemical methods. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of the hemocyte was probed according to the accumulation of the cyanine dye, 3′, 3′-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide, in the mitochondrial matrix. The results showed that there were three types of circulating hemocytes (hyalinocytes, semigranulocytes, and granulocytes) in M. rosenbergii. Enzymes POD, PO, and ALP were more abundant and active in granulocytes and semigranulocytes than in hyalinocytes. The data associated with MMP showed that the fluorescence intensity in the hemocyte was directly correlated to cell complexity. The MMP in granulocytes was significantly greater than that in semigranulocytes, and the latter was significantly greater tha...

To better understand gene expression in the intestine after Shewanella algae infection and provide insights into its immune roles in the tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis, sequencing-based high-throughput RNA analysis (RNA-Seq) for the intestines between the control group and 12 h post-injection group was performed. After assembly, there was an average of 23,957,159 raw sequencing reads, and 23,943,491 clean reads were obtained after filtering out low-quality reads. Then, 383 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the intestines in response to S. algae infection were identified. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of the DEGs were conducted to further explore their functions. Among all of the pathways involved, sixteen pathways were related to the immune system, among which the complement and coagulation cascades pathway was the most prominent for immunity-related DEGs, followed by the leukocyte transendothelial migration pathway. Furthermore, the expression levels of twelve selected DEGs in the immune-related pathways were identified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, substantiating the reliability and reproducibility of the RNA-Seq results. In summary, this study represents an important genomic resource for understanding the potential immune role of the tongue sole intestine from the perspective of gene expression.