BACKGROUND: To investigate the involvement of LINC02605 in the progression of paediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP).
METHODS: One hundred and thirty-two children with MPP (90 simple MPP and 42 MPP + diarrhoea) were enrolled, and their plasma was collected for detection of LINC026505 expression. CCK-8 kit and commercial apoptosis kit were introduced to determine cell growth and apoptosis. In silico prediction analyses were conducted to predict the downstream miRNA for LINC02605, following verification by dual luciferase reporter assay. The lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) were used to treat A549 and Coca-2 cells.
RESULTS: LIN02605 was highly expressed in the MPP, especially in MPP complicated with diarrhoea. LINC02605 downregulation in A549 cells correlated with significant suppression of cell apoptosis rate and growth inhibition rate in vitro. Introduction of miR-539-5p inhibited luciferase activity in a reporter system containing the wild-type LINC02605 and CXCL1. After stimulation with LAMPs, overexpression of LINC02605 and CXCL1 and inhibition of miR-539-5p were found. miR-539-5p and CXCL1 knockdown resulted in a rescue effect on the LINC02605-inhibited cell apoptosis. LAMPs induced IL-1β in intestinal epithelial cells and IL-1β induced LINC02605 expression in A549 cells.
CONCLUSIONS: LINC02605 was upregulated in MPP and miR-539-5p was a target for LINC02605. LINC02605 may be involved in the crosstalk between the gastrointestinal tract and the respiratory tract.

Bacteriophages (phages) can significantly influence the composition and functions of their host communities, and enhance host pathogenicity via the transport of phage-encoded virulence genes. Phages are the main component of animal gut viruses, however, there are few reports on the piglet gut phageome and its contribution to virulence genes. Here, a total of 185 virulence genes from 59,955 predicted genes of gut phages in weaned piglets were identified, with 0.688 % of the phage contigs coding for at least one virulence gene. The virulence gene pblA was the most abundant, with various virulence genes significantly correlated with gut phages and their encoded mobile gene element (MGE) genes. Importantly, multiple virulence genes and MGE genes coexist in some phage sequences, and up to 12 virulence genes were detected in a single phage sequence, greatly increasing the risk of phage-mediated transmission of virulence genes into the bacterial genome. In addition, diarrhoea has driven changes in the composition and structure of phage and bacterial communities in the intestinal tract of weaned piglets, significantly increasing the abundance of phage contigs encoding both virulence genes and MGE genes in faecal samples, which potentially increases the risk of phage-mediated virulence genes being transfected into the gut bacterial genome. In summary, this study expands our understanding of the gut microbiome of piglets, advances our understanding of the potential role of phages in driving host pathogenesis in the gut system, and provides new insights into the sources of virulence genes and genetic evolution of bacteria in pig farm environments.

The evolution of nutritional strategies to improve the gut health and microbiota profiles of early-weaned piglets is essential to reduce diarrhoea caused by weaning stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of Qi-Weng-Huangbo powder, a traditional herbal medicine consisting of a mixture of Pulsatilla chinensis, Chinese Schneid and Astragalus extracts (PCE), on the growth performance, diarrhoea rate, immune function and intestinal health of weaned piglets.
162 piglets were randomly assigned to the CON group (no PCE added), the PCEL group (300 mg/kg PCE) and the PCEH group (500 mg/kg PCE) at the end of the third week post farrowing. There were 9 replicates of each group with 6 pigs per replicate. The experiment lasted for 28 days and sampling was performed on the final day.
The results showed that the PCE diet increased the average daily gain (ADG) and final body weight (BW) compared to the CON group. Both supplemented doses of PCE reduced the faecal scores of piglets, and the diarrhoea rate in the PCEL group was significantly lower than that in the CON group. The application of PCE diets promoted the development of the spleen in piglets and up-regulated serum immunoglobulin concentrations to enhance immune function, which was also reflected in the down-regulated gene expression of the colonic TLR/MyD88/NF-κB pathway. Supplementation with PCE improved intestinal morphology, and all doses of PCE significantly increased villus height (VH) in the ileum, whereas colonic crypt depth (CD) was significantly lower in the PCEH group than in the CON group. The PCEH diet significantly increased the levels of valeric and isovaleric acid in the colon content. Dietary PCEH also improved the colonic microbial community profile, reflected by a significant increase in Shannon\'s index compared with CON group. The abundance of Veillonellaceae and Rhodospirillales was significantly increased in the PCEH group at the family level.
In conclusion, dietary PCE reduced diarrhoea rates, improved growth performance and enhanced immune function in weaned piglets. These improvements were potentially supported by altered ileum and colonic morphology, elevated colonic VFA levels, and modulation of colonic microbial profiles.

Chronic radiation proctitis (CRP) is a long-term complication of pelvic radiotherapy that manifests as rectal bleeding, diarrhoea, fistula formation and obstruction. Treatments such as endoscopic argon plasma coagulation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and rectal topical formalin have imposed a significant medical burden on CRP patients. In contrast, oral therapies offer a more accessible and acceptable option for managing CRP. Here, we conducted a systematic review of the efficacy of oral treatments for CRP to assess their potential as an effective and convenient treatment option for this condition.
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese VIP in February 2021. We included post-radiotherapy participants with CRP that compared oral medicine alone or in combination with other treatments versus control treatments. The primary outcomes were bleeding, diarrhoea and symptom score. Heterogeneity between studies was checked using Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 test statistics. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies.
We included 10 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and 1 retrospective study with 898 participants. Three placebo-controlled trials evaluated the effects of oral sucralfate on CRP, with meta-analysis showing no significant different with placebo arm. Four trials on TCM demonstrated significant improvement of symptoms, especially for the 3 trials on oral TCM drinks. Retinyl palmitate and high-fibre diet were found to reduce rectal bleeding. The combination of oral pentoxifylline and tocopherol did not significantly change the process of CRP.
Our study implies that oral TCM drinks, retinyl palmitate and a high-fiber diet showed significant improvement in CRP symptoms, but not with the combination of oral pentoxifylline and tocopherol. Further multicentre, larger-scale RCTs are needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of these treatments and optimize treatment strategies, ultimately improving the quality of life for patients with CRP.

Blidingia sp. is a prominent fouling green macroalga and we previously found that extracts from Blidingia sp. alleviated intestinal inflammation in mice challenged with lipopolysaccharides. However, whether these extracts are effective in weanling piglets remains unknown. In the present study, Blidingia sp. extracts were supplemented in the diet and their effects on growth performance, incidence of diarrhoea and intestinal function in weanling piglets were explored. The results showed that diets supplemented with 0.1% or 0.5% Blidingia sp. extract significantly increased average daily body weight gain and feed intake in weanling piglets. Meanwhile, piglets supplemented with 0.5% Blidingia sp. extract showed decreased incidence of diarrhoea as well as reduced fecal water and Na+ content. Furthermore, the diet supplemented with 0.5% Blidingia sp. extracts improved intestinal morphology, as indicated by the results of hematoxylin and eosin staining. Diet supplemented with 0.5% Blidingia sp. extracts also improved tight junction function, as indicated by increased expression of Occludin, Claudin-1 and Zonula occludens-1, and alleviated the inflammatory response, as indicated by decreased tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 (IL6) contents and increased IL10 levels. Taken together, our results showed that Blidingia sp. extracts had beneficial effects in weanling piglets and we suggest that Blidingia sp. extracts could be potentially used as an additive for piglets.

The true incidence of acute gastrointestinal illness in China is underrecognized by surveillance systems. The aims of this study were to estimate the incidence and prevalence of self-reported AGI in the community of China, and to investigate sociodemographic and epidemiological determinants of AGI.
We conducted a 12-months cross-sectional population-based survey in eight provinces of China during 2014-2015. The survey determined the prevalence and incidence of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in the total permanent resident population in China according to the census of the population in 2010. The random multilevel population sample was stratified by geographic, population, and socioeconomic status. We used a recommended case definition of AGI, with diarrhea (three loose or watery stools) and/or any vomiting in a four-week recall. A face-to-face survey was conducted by selecting the member in the household with the most recent birthday.
Among 56,704 sampled individuals, 948 (1,134 person-time) fulfilled the case definition; 98.5% reported diarrhea. This corresponds to 2.3% (95% CI:1.9%-2.8%) of an overall standardized four-week prevalence and 0.3 (95% CI: 0.23-0.34) episodes per person-year of annual adjusted incidence rate. There was no significant difference between males and females. The incidence rates were higher among urban residents, and in the spring and summer. In the whole study period, 50% of the cases sought medical care, of which 3.9% were hospitalized and 14.3% provided a biological sample for laboratory identification of the causative agent. Children aged 0-4 and young adults aged 15-24, people living in rural areas and people who traveled frequently had higher prevalence of AGI.
Results showed that AGI represents a substantial burden in China, and will contribute to the estimation of the global burden of AGI. Complemented with data on the etiologies of AGI, these estimates will form the basis to estimate the burden of foodborne diseases in China.

Rotavirus (RV) causes 200,000 deaths per year and imposes a serious burden to public health and livestock farming worldwide. Currently, rehydration (oral and intravenous) remains the main strategy for the treatment of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE), and no specific drugs are available. This review discusses the viral replication cycle in detail and outlines possible therapeutic approaches including immunotherapy, probiotic-assisted therapy, anti-enteric secretory drugs, Chinese medicine, and natural compounds. We present the latest advances in the field of rotavirus antivirals and highlights the potential use of Chinese medicine and natural compounds as therapeutic agents. This review provides an important reference for rotavirus prevention and treatment.

ABSTRACTCoxsackievirus A19 (CVA19) is a member of Enterovirus (EV) C group in the Picornaviridae family. Recently, we reported a case of CVA19-infected hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) for the first time. However, the current body of knowledge on the CVA19 infection, particularly the pathogenesis of encephalomyelitis and diarrhoea is still very limited, due to the lack of suitable animal models. Here, we successfully established a CVA19 mouse model via oral route based on 7-day-old ICR mice. Our results found the virus strain could directly infect the neurons, astrocytes of brain, and motor neurons of spinal cord causing neurological complications, such as acute flaccid paralysis. Importantly, viruses isolated from the spinal cords of infected mice caused severe illness in suckling mice, fulfilling Koch\'s postulates to some extent. CVA19 infection led to diarrhoea with typical pathological features of shortened intestinal villi, increased number of secretory cells and apoptotic intestinal cells, and inflammatory cell infiltration. Much higher concentrations of serum cytokines and more peripheral blood inflammatory cells in CVA19-infected mice indicated a systematic inflammatory response induced by CVA19 infection. Finally, we found ribavirin and CVA19 VP1 monoclonal antibody could not prevent the disease progression, but higher concentrations of antisera and interferon alpha 2 (IFN-α2) could provide protective effects against CVA19. In conclusion, this study shows that a natural mouse-adapted CVA19 strain leads to diarrhoea and encephalomyelitis in a mouse model via oral infection, which provides a useful tool for studying CVA19 pathogenesis and evaluating the efficacy of vaccines and antivirals.

The present study investigated the effects of supplementing bioactive peptides derived from rapeseed protein (rapeseed peptide, Rsp) on the growth performance, serum biochemistry and faecal micro-organism composition of weaned piglets. Sixty Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weaned piglets of similar weights were randomly divided into three groups. The control group (NC) was fed a basal diet, and the two treatment groups, Rsp-1 and Rsp-2, were fed a basal diet supplemented with 1% or 2% Rsp, respectively, for 28 days. Each treatment consisted of five replicates with four piglets per replicate. The results showed that Rsp treatment significantly improved the average daily gain and had a better feed-to-gain ratio (p < 0.05). The diarrhoea incidence and indices of Rsp-1 and Rsp-2 groups were significantly lower than the NC group (p < 0.05), and the effect of Rsp-2 on reducing the incidence of diarrhoea was significantly higher than that of Rsp-1 (p < 0.05). The serum albumin, serum immunoglobulin A and catalase levels of the Rsp-1 and Rsp-2 groups were significantly better than the NC group (p < 0.05). Additionally, Rsp treatment significantly gained the relative abundance of faecal Lactobacillaceae and decreased the relative abundance of faecal Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group, Treponema and Coprococcus (p < 0.05). In summary, Rsp supplementation improved the growth performance, ameliorated the diarrhoea, enhanced the immune and antioxidant functions and changed the composition of faecal micro-organisms in piglets. These findings indicate that Rsp positively affected the health of weaned piglets.

Aichivirus C is an emerging virus in goats, but its biological significance remains unknown. In this study, 18 diarrheic and 16 non-diarrheic faecal samples of kids were collected from a farm with an on-going diarrheic outbreak in Sichuan Province, China in May 2021. Of these samples, 77.8% (14/18) of diarrheic samples were detected as Aichivirus C positive by RT-PCR, which was significantly higher than that of non-diarrheic faces (0%, p < .001); meanwhile, other common diarrhoea-causing pathogens in goats were not detected in diarrheic samples, except for two samples that were detected as caprine enterovirus positive, suggesting that Aichivirus C was associated with goat diarrhoea. Furthermore, five Aichivirus C strains were successfully isolated from positive samples using Vero cell lines and two isolates were further plaque-purified, named SWUN/F5/2021(10-6.7 TCID50 /0.1 mL) and SWUN/F6/2021(10-7 TCID50 /0.1 mL). Interestingly, Aichivirus C strain could cause systemic infection in experimental kids via oral administration, with the main clinical manifestation being severe watery diarrhoea. Histopathological changes observed in the duodenum and jejunum were characteristic, with shedding of mucosal epithelial cells. In addition, the virus was detected in tissues of diarrhoea kids naturally infected with Aichivirus C, exhibiting pathological changes similar to those of experimental infections. Overall, this study first isolated Aichivirus C and confirmed its pathogenicity in kids, with further study needed to better understand the virus pathogenicity. As Aichivirus C has been detected in South Korea, Italy and the USA and widely prevalent in southwest China, the results obtained here have significant implications for the diagnosis and control of diarrhoea in goats.