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Background and aimGut microbiota may contribute to regulate colonic motility, which is involved in the etiology of constipation. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been demonstrated to restore intestinal homeostasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of FMT for the treatment of slow transit constipation (STC).MethodsFifty-two patients with STC received standardized FMT and were followed up for 6 months. Bowel habit, colonic transit time, constipation-related symptoms (PAC-SYM score), quality of life (PAC-QOL score), treatment satisfaction scores and adverse events were monitored. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients having on average three or more complete spontaneous bowel movements (CSBMs) per week.ResultsThe primary efficacy endpoint was achieved in 50.0%, 38.5% and 32.7% of patients over week intervals 3–4, 9–12 and 21–24, respectively (P < 0.01 for all comparisons). Significant improvements were also observed in other bowel movement assessments, colonic transit time, constipation-related symptoms and quality of life; but all improvements diminished at weeks 12 and 24. Incompleteness of evacuation served as the only factor associated with efficacy. No serious treatment-related adverse events were observed.ConclusionThis study suggested FMT was effective and safe for STC, while a late loss of efficacy was also observed. A lower degree of sensation of incompleteness predicted a better outcome.

Malignant tumors typically undergo an atavistic regression characterized by the overexpression of embryonic genes and proto-oncogenes, including a variety of cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) that are testis-derived and are not expressed or expressed in trace amounts in somatic tissues. Based on this theory, we established a new method to identify unknown CTAs, the spermatogenic cells-specific monoclonal antibody-defined cancer/testis antigen (SADA) method. Using the SADA method, we identified BAP31 as a novel CTA and confirmed that BAP31 expression is associated with progression and metastasis of several cancers, particularly in cervical cancer. We found that BAP31 was significantly upregulated in stage I, II, and III cervical cancer patients and highly correlated with poor clinic outcomes. We further demonstrated that BAP31 regulates cervical cancer cell proliferation by arresting the cell cycle at the G0/G1 stage and that depletion of BAP31 inhibits hyper-proliferation. Moreover, depletion of BAP31 inhibits cervical cancer cell invasion and migration by regulating the expression and subcellular localization of Drebrin, M-RIP, SPECC1L, and Nexilin, and then affect the cytoskeleton assemblage. Finally, the depletion of BAP31 prevents cervical cancer progression and metastasis in vivo. These findings provide a new method for identifying novel CTAs as well as mechanistic insights into how BAP31 regulates cervical cancer hyper-proliferation and metastasis.

The present study shows that application of gastrointestinal decompression after colorectostomy can not effectively reduce postoperative complications. On the contrary, it may increase the incidence rate of fever, pharyngolaryngitis and pulmonary infection. These strategies of early removing gastrointestinal decompression and early oral feeding in the patients undergoing colorectostomy are feasible and safe and associated with reduced postoperative discomfort and can accelerate the return of bowel function and improve rehabilitation.

BackgroundThe ability of Shigella to invade, colonize, and eventually kill host cells is influenced by many virulence factors. However, there is no analysis of related genes in Jiangsu Province of China so far. Shigella flexneri was collected from 13 cities of Jiangsu Province through the provincial Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for analysis of distribution of major virulence genes (ipaH, ipaBCD, ial, virF, virB, sigA, set1A, sepA, sat, pic, set1B and sen) detected by PCR technology.ResultsA total of 545 isolates received were confirmed as S. flexneri which belongs to 11 serotypes of S. flexneri, among which serotype 2a was the most predominant (n = 223, 40.9%). All isolates were positive for ipaH gene, followed by sat (94.1%), sigA (78.9%), set1B (78.0%), pic (77.6%), set1A (74.5%), virF (64.8%), sepA (63.5%), sen (56.9%), ipaBCD (50.5%), ial (47.0%) and virB (47.0%). The presence of virulence genes in different serotypes was distinct. The existence of virulence genes of serotype 1b was generally lower than other serotype-the positive rate for virulence genes was between 0.0 and 14.1% except for ipaH and sat. In addition, virulence genes also fluctuated in different regions and at different times in Jiangsu province. The result of analysis on the relationship between virulence genes of S. flexneri showed that the existence of virulence genes of Shigella could be well represented by multiplex PCR combination ipaH + ial + set1A, which had a high clinical value.ConclusionsThe present study was designed to explore the prevalence of 12 S. flexneri-associated virulence genes. The data showed high diversity of virulence genes with regard to periods, regions and serotypes in Jiangsu Province of China.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13099-017-0222-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Mycobacterium species are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The present study was carried out to systematically evaluate the accuracy of Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS) for the identification of clinical pathogenic mycobacteria. After a rigid selection process, 19 articles involving 2,593 mycobacteria isolates were included. The pooled result agreed with the reference method identification for 85% of the isolates to genus level, with 71% (95% CI of 69% to 72%) correct to the species level. The MALDI-TOF MS correctly identified 92% of the M.tuberculosis isolates (95% CI of 0.87 to 0.96), and 68% of M. bovisisolates (95% CI of 27% to 100%) to the species level. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in solid media with reference strains using augmented database showing more accurate identification. The identifying accuracy rate of bioMérieuxVitek MS was slight higher than Bruker MALDI Biotyper (75% vs 72%). However, opposite results were obtained in identifications of M. fortuitum, M. kansasii, M. marinum, and M. terrae with these two systems. In summary, our results demonstrate that application of MALDI-TOF MS in clinical pathogenic mycobacteria identification is less satisfactory to date. Increasing need for improvement is important especially at species level.

Background: The ability of Shigella to invade, colonizes, and eventually kill host cells is influenced by many virulence factors. The aims of this study were to assess the presence of 11 virulence genes of S. sonnei strains isolated in this country. Methods: A total of 166 S. sonnei was collected from 13 cities of Jiangsu province through the provincial Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from 2010 to 2015 and then the distribution of virulence genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. Results: Invasive virulence genes included ipaH and ial, in which the positive rate of ipaH was 100% while the positive rate of ial was 15.1% in S. sonnei. The classic pathway of regulating expression of Shigella virulence gene involved virF and virB gene, which positive rates were 33.7% and 24.1% respectively. The most common serine protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae among S. sonnei were sigA (100%), followed by sepA (3.0%), sat (3.0%), pic (1.2%). Shigella enterotoxin genes include sen, set1A, set1B were found in 16.3%, 6.0% and 1.8% of the isolates, respectively. Conclusions: This study provides baseline information on the distribution of virulence genes in clinical S. sonnei trains in Jiangsu province in China, which will be important for implementation of effective control strategies.

The house dust mite is one of the most common allergens worldwide. There is good evidence that house dust mite subcutaneous immunotherapy is efficacious and has long-term benefit in children. However, the evidence of the benefit of house dust mite sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is less convincing. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate that efficacy and safety of dust mite SLIT in children with asthma.Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases until February 2014 were searched. The primary outcome was mean change in asthma symptom score. Secondary outcomes included mean change in serum immunoglobulin G4 (sIgG4), specific Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, and medication score. Safety was also assessed.We found that SLIT significantly decreased asthma symptom score (P = 0.007) and increased sIgG4 levels (P = 0.011) greater than control in children (<18 years of age) with asthma. There was no difference between SLIT and control groups in specific D pteronyssinus IgE levels (P = 0.076) and medication score (P = 0.408). The safety profile was similar between groups.Our study indicates that dust mite SLIT therapy was effective in reducing asthma symptoms and in increasing sIgG4 but did not significantly reduce medication scores or specific D pteronyssinus IgE levels. Our findings are not enough to support the use of dust mite SLIT in children with asthma.