Abstract Background: A lot of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) carry the somatic mutation in the oncogene BRAF V600E. But the detailed histopathologic characteristics and the proliferative activity of CMN with BRAF V600E gene mutation have not been systematically documented. Objective: To identify the proliferative activity and histopathological features correlating them with BRAF V600E gene mutation status in CMN. Methods: CMN were retrospectively identified from the laboratory reporting system. Mutations were determined by Sanger sequencing. The CMN were divided into a mutant group and control group according to whether there was BRAF gene mutation and were strictly matched according to gender, age, nevus size, and location. Histopathological analysis, analysis of Ki67 expression by immunohistochemistry and laser confocal fluorescence microscopy were performed. Results: The differences in Ki67 index, the depth of nevus cell involvement and the number of nevus cell nests between the mutant group and the control group was statistically significant, with p-values of 0.041, 0.002 and 0.007, respectively. Compared with BRAFV600E negative nevi, BRAF V600E positive nevi often exhibited predominantly nested intraepidermal melanocytes, and larger junctional nests, but the difference in this datasets were not statistically significant. The number of nests (p = 0.001) was positively correlated with the proportion of Ki67 positive cells. Study limitations: A small sample of patients were included and there was no follow-up. Conclusions: BRAF V600E gene mutations were associated with high proliferative activity and distinct histopathological features in congenital melanocytic nevi.

Abstract We aimed to evaluate the effect of red meat diet on gut microbiota in mice. Balb/c mice at weaning were randomized into control group and red meat groups with different proportions (25%, 50%, and 75%). Mice were fed with a standard pellet diet as control group, while those were fed with different proportions of red meat diet as red meat groups. After 8 weeks, they were sacrificed and their intestinal contents were obtained for 16S rRNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Our results showed that there were significant-structural differences among the four groups. The top-two most abundant phylum were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. In the red meat groups, the abundance of Bacteroidetes was increased, but the abundance of Firmicutes was decreased. At the family level, Bacteroidaceae and Family XIII were significantly higher in the high-dose group than those in the control group. There were also significant differences in abundance of many genera. In conclusion, different proportions of red meat diet may lead to changes in gut microbial flora in mice. These changes may be pathological and may be related to the frequent occurrence of many diseases.

Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a clinical syndrome in which patients have symptoms and signs of HF with normal or near-normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF ≥50%). Roughly half of all patients with HF worldwide have an LVEF ≥50% and nearly half have an LVEF <50%. Thanks to the increased scientific attention about the condition and improved characterization and diagnostic tools, the incidence of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) dropped while that of HFpEF has increased by 45%. HFpEF has no single guideline for diagnosis or treatment, the patient population is heterogeneously and inconsistently described, and longitudinal studies are lacking. To better understand and overcome the disease, in this review, we updated the latest knowledge of HFpEF pathophysiology, introduced the existing promising diagnostic methods and treatments, and summarized its prognosis by reviewing the most recent cohort studies.

Abstract China is the largest royal jelly producer and exporter in the world, and high royal jelly-yielding strains have been bred in the country for approximately three decades. However, information on the molecular mechanism underlying high royal jelly production is scarce. Here, a cDNA microarray was used to screen and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to obtain an overview on the changes in gene expression levels between high and low royal jelly producing bees. We developed a honey bee gene chip that covered 11,689 genes, and this chip was hybridised with cDNA generated from RNA isolated from heads of nursing bees. A total of 369 DEGs were identified between high and low royal jelly producing bees. Amongst these DEGs, 201 (54.47%) genes were up-regulated, whereas 168 (45.53%) were down-regulated in high royal jelly-yielding bees. Gene ontology (GO) analyses showed that they are mainly involved in four key biological processes, and pathway analyses revealed that they belong to a total of 46 biological pathways. These results provide a genetic basis for further studies on the molecular mechanisms involved in high royal jelly production.