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Few studies have evaluated Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway activation in different types of ovarian tumors including benign, borderline and malignant ovarian tumors. The present study investigated the expression of Hh signaling pathway components (SHH, SMO, PTCH, and GLI1) in 193 ovarian epithelial tumor specimens (including 147 malignant epithelial ovarian cancers, 30 borderline ovarian tumors, 16 benign ovarian epithelial tumors) and 11 normal ovarian epithelial tissues by immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrated widespread expression of Hh pathway molecules in ovarian tumors. However, there was no significant difference in the expression intensity of SHH among the four groups (P>0.05). Statistically significant differences were identified in the expression intensity of the SMO, PICH and GLI1 among groups (P

In an attempt to explore the early developmental arrest in embryos from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) patients, we sequenced the transcriptome profiles of PCOS arrested 2-cell embryos, non-PCOS arrested 2-cell embryos and non-arrested 2-cell embryos using single-cell RNA-Seq technique. Differential expression analysis was performed using the DEGSeq R package. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment was analyzed using the GOseq R package. Data revealed 62 differentially expressed genes between non-PCOS arrested and PCOS arrested embryos and 2217 differentially expressed genes between PCOS arrested and non-arrested 2-cell embryos. A total of 49 differently expressed genes (DEGs) were annotated with GO terms in the up-regulated genes between PCOS arrested and non-PCOS arrested embryos after GO enrichment. A total of 29 DEGs were annotated with GO terms in the down-regulated genes between PCOS arrested and non-arrested 2-cell embryos after GO enrichment. These data can provide a reference for screening specific genes involved in the arrest of PCOS embryos.

Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), also known as premature ovarian failure (POF), is defined as more than six months of cessation of menses before the age of 40 years, with two serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels (at least 1 month apart) falling in the menopause range. The cause of POI remains undetermined in the majority of cases, although some studies have reported increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in idiopathic POF. The role of mitochondrial DNA in the pathogenesis of POI has not been studied extensively. This aim of this study was to uncover underlying mitochondrial genetic defects in patients with POI. The entire region of the mitochondrial genome was amplified in subjects with idiopathic POI (n=63) and age-matched healthy female controls (n=63) using nine pair sets of primers, followed by screening of the mitochondrial genome using an Illumina MiSeq. We identified a total of 96 non-synonymous mitochondrial variations in POI patients and 93 non-synonymous variations in control subjects. Of these, 21 (9 in POI and 12 in control) non-synonymous variations had not been reported previously. Eight mitochondrial cytochrome coxidase 1 (MT-CO1) missense variants were identified in POI patients, whereas only four missense mutations were observed in controls. A high incidence of MT-CO1 missense variants were identified in POI patients compared with controls, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (13/63 vs. 5/63, p=0.042). Our results show that patients with primary ovarian insufficiency exhibit an increased incidence of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene mutations, suggesting that MT-CO1 gene mutation may be causal in POI.

Background Bronchofiberscopy, a widely used procedure for the diagnosis of various pulmonary diseases within intensive care units, has a history of association with nosocomial infections. Between September and November 2009, an outbreak caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-Ab) was observed in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in Beijing, China. This study is aimed to describe the course and control of this outbreak and investigate the related risk factors. Methods Clinical and environmental sampling, genotyping with repetitive extragenic palindromic polymerase chain reaction (REP-PCR), and case–control risk factor analysis were performed in the current study. Results During the epidemic period, 12 patients were infected or colonized with MDR-Ab. Sixteen (72.7%) of twenty-two MDR-Ab isolates from the 12 patients and 22 (84.6%) of 26 MDR-Ab isolates from the bronchofiberscope and the healthcare-associated environment were clustered significantly into a major clone (outbreak MDR-Ab strain) by REP-PCR typing. Seven patients carrying the outbreak MDR-Ab strain were defined as the cases. Six of the seven cases (83%) received bronchofiberscopy versus four of the 19 controls (21%) (odds ratio, 22.5; 95% confidence interval, 2.07–244.84; P = 0.005). Several potential administrative and technical problems existed in bronchofiberscope reprocessing. Conclusions Bronchofiberscopy was associated with this MDR-Ab outbreak. Infection control precautions including appropriate bronchofiberscope reprocessing and environmental decontamination should be strengthened.