Biliary bacteria have been implicated in gallstone pathogenesis, though a clear understanding of their composition and source is lacking. Moreover, the effects of the biliary environment, which is known to be generally hostile to most bacteria, on biliary bacteria are unclear. Here, we investigated the bacterial communities of the biliary tract, duodenum, stomach, and oral cavity from six gallstone patients by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We found that all observed biliary bacteria were detectable in the upper digestive tract. The biliary microbiota had a comparatively higher similarity with the duodenal microbiota, versus those of the other regions, but with a reduced diversity. Although the majority of identified bacteria were greatly diminished in bile samples, three Enterobacteriaceae genera (Escherichia, Klebsiella, and an unclassified genus) and Pyramidobacter were abundant in bile. Predictive functional analysis indicated enhanced abilities of environmental information processing and cell motility of biliary bacteria. Our study provides evidence for the potential source of biliary bacteria, and illustrates the influence of the biliary system on biliary bacterial communities.

Despite the high worldwide prevalence of gallstone disease, the role of the biliary microbiota in gallstone pathogenesis remains obscure. Next-generation sequencing offers advantages for systematically understanding the human microbiota; however, there have been few such investigations of the biliary microbiome. Here, we performed whole-metagenome shotgun (WMS) sequencing and 16S rRNA sequencing on bile samples from 15 Chinese patients with gallstone disease. Microbial communities of most individuals were clustered into two types, according to the relative enrichment of different intestinal bacterial species. In the bile samples, oral cavity/respiratory tract inhabitants were more prevalent than intestinal inhabitants and existed in both community types. Unexpectedly, the two types were not associated with fever status or surgical history, and many bacteria were patient-specific. We identified 13 novel biliary bacteria based on WMS sequencing, as well as genes encoding putative proteins related to gallstone formation and bile resistance (e.g., β-glucuronidase and multidrug efflux pumps). Bile samples from gallstone patients had reduced microbial diversity compared to healthy faecal samples. Patient samples were enriched in pathways related to oxidative stress and flagellar assembly, whereas carbohydrate metabolic pathways showed varying behaviours. As the first biliary WMS survey, our study reveals the complexity and specificity of biliary microecology.

Endothelial cells (ECs) are regulated not only by circulating hormones, but also by mechanical stresses, such as shear force. Ion channels in ECs can signal rapid changes of shear forces and are involved in controling EC permeability, proliferation, and angiogenesis. In this study, we employed patch clamping and molecular biology approaches to clarify whether the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is functionally expressed in ECs. The alpha-subunit of the ENaC was expressed in cultured human ECs and in intact ECs from a variety of rat arteries. In either inside- or outside-out current recordings, inward currents with a conductance of 4.83 pS were detected in cultured human ECs, where these were sensitive to micromolar amiloride. The right shift of the I-V curve in the condition of low cytoplasmic Na+ implicated that these currents were carried by Na+. The currents were mediated by ENaC channels, as confirmed by ENaC knockdown experiments. However, the activity of ENaC was nearly absent in intact ECs, because its activity was greatly inhibited by cellular molecules, partly due to 11,12-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid. In the outside-out configuration, laminar flow directly enhanced ENaC opening probability, suggesting a potential role for ENaC in mediating shear force signaling events.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Ho:YAG laser enucleation of the prostate (HOLEP) to the sexual function of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In the course of the study, 108 patients with BPH were recruited and accepted treatment with HOLEP. The effectiveness of treatment was evaluated by flow rate and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) before HOLEP and 6 months afterwards. Meanwhile, the sexual functions were evaluated with the Danish Prostate Symptom Score Sexual Function Questionnaire (DanPSS Sex). Before and 6 months after HOLEP treatment, the mean residual urine volume was reduced from 106.0 6 51.7 mL to 5.6 6 1.7 mL (P , .01), maximum flow rate was improved from 7.2 6 3.9 mL/s to 21.7 6 1.3 mL/s (P , .01), nocturia frequency was reduced from 5.5 to 1.5 (P , .01), and the mean IPSS score was decreased from 19.4 6 5.6 to 7.4 6 2.6 (P , .01). The proportion of patients satisfied with their libido was 55% before HOLEP and 57% 6 months afterwards, while 23.5% of the patients had no libido before and after HOLEP; 37% of the patients were satisfied with their erection before HOLEP and 40% after 6 months; 30% of the patients had completely satisfactory sex life before HOLEP, and 32% did 6 months later. The corresponding percentages of fully impotent patients increased from 33% before the procedure to 35% 6 months postoperation. Early morning erections were reported by 45% of the patients before the procedure and by 62% 6 months later (P , .01). In 70% of the patients with normal sex life, ejaculation was retrograde 6 months after HOLEP (P , .01). HOLEP does not affect the sexual function of patients with BPH but does did improve the ability of early morning erection, while causing retrograde ejaculation.

Identification of biomarkers representing the evolution of the pathophysiology of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is vitally important, not only for objective diagnosis but also for the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy and resilience to trauma. Ongoing research is directed at identifying molecular biomarkers for PTSD, including traumatic stress induced proteins, transcriptomes, genomic variances and genetic modulators, using biologic samples from subjects' blood, saliva, urine, and postmortem brain tissues. However, the correlation of these biomarker molecules in peripheral or postmortem samples to altered brain functions associated with psychiatric symptoms in PTSD remains unresolved. Here, we present an animal model of PTSD in which both peripheral blood and central brain biomarkers, as well as behavioral phenotype, can be collected and measured, thus providing the needed correlation of the central biomarkers of PTSD, which are mechanistic and pathognomonic but cannot be collected from people, with the peripheral biomarkers and behavioral phenotypes, which can.Our animal model of PTSD employs restraint and tail shocks repeated for three continuous days -the inescapable tail-shock model (ITS) in rats. This ITS model mimics the pathophysiology of PTSD 17, 7, 4, 10 . We and others have verified that the ITS model induces behavioral and neurobiological alterations similar to those found in PTSD subjects 17, 7, 10, 9 . Specifically, these stressed rats exhibit (1) a delayed and exaggerated startle response appearing several days after stressor cessation, which given the compressed time scale of the rat's life compared to a humans, corresponds to the one to three months delay of symptoms in PTSD patients (DSM-IV-TR PTSD Criterian D/E 13 ), (2) enhanced plasma corticosterone (CORT) for several days, indicating compromise of the hypothalamopituitary axis (HPA), and (3) retarded body weight gain after stressor cessation, indicating dysfunction of metabolic regulation.The experimental paradigms employed for this model are: (1) a learned helplessness paradigm in the rat assayed by measurement of acoustic startle response (ASR) and a charting of body mass; (2) microdissection of the rat brain into regions and nuclei; (3) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for blood levels of CORT; (4) a gene expression microarray plus related bioinformatics tools 18 . This microarray, dubbed rMNChip, focuses on mitochondrial and mitochondria-related nuclear genes in the rat so as to specifically address the neuronal bioenergetics hypothesized to be involved in PTSD. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at https://www.jove.com/video/3361/ Protocol 1. Animal Behavioral Model of PTSD 1. Subjects: Male albino Sprague Dawley rats (Taconic Farms, Derwood, MD) are used, weighting 150 to 200 g at the time of administration of the stress protocol. 2. Measurement of food, water intake and body weight gain: On arrival in the laboratory rats weighing 100 ± 25 g are housed two to a cage (cage size:...