Nanjing Municipal Center for Disease Control And Prevention

China experienced its worst pertussis epidemic in 30 years during 2024, and Wujin District faced the same challenge. This study aims to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of pertussis and the immune status of the healthy population in Wujin District, Changzhou City. The study employed descriptive epidemiology for pertussis case analysis and a serological survey for population antibody assessment in Wujin District, 2024. The level of pertussis toxin (PT) IgG antibody was measured by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). A total of 28 pertussis cases were reported in 2024 in Wujin District, with an incidence rate of 2.15 per 100,000 population. Although infants < 1 year had the peak incidence (84.02 per 100,000), the 5–9 year age group accounted for the largest proportion of cases (67.86%) with an incidence rate of 28.70 per 100,000. 521 participants were included in the serological survey. Anti-PT IgG levels were undetectable (< 5 IU/ml) in 49.52% of the participants. The overall positivity (≥ 20 IU/mL) rate and antibody concentration were 17.27% and 5.17 IU/mL, respectively. The antibody positive rate was highest in the 1.5–3 years age group (30.00%) and lowest in the 20–29 years age group (7.89%). The recent infection (≥ 80 IU/mL) rate was 2.11%, with the top two observed in the 6–9 years old group (7.69%) and the 10–14 years old group (5.88%). The seropositivity rates and antibody concentrations of vaccinated individuals were higher than those of unvaccinated subjects or those with unknown vaccination history (all P-values < 0.05). Wujin District saw a striking predominance of pertussis cases in school-aged children (5–9 years) in 2024. The antibody levels against pertussis in the healthy population were generally low, especially among adolescents and adults, calling for reinforced active surveillance targeting these age groups. Not applicable.

Background and AimsAutoimmune hepatitis (AIH) frequently coexists with extrahepatic autoimmune diseases (EADs), but their prevalence, characteristics, progression, and treatment effect in the Han Chinese population remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and spectrum of EADs and to assess their clinical features, disease course, and treatment outcomes in Han Chinese patients with AIH.MethodsMedical records of 371 Han Chinese patients with AIH (diagnosed from March 2016 to October 2023) were retrospectively analyzed.ResultsAmong the 371 AIH patients, 304 (81.94%) were female, with a median age of 52.5 years (interquartile range, 46.0–61.0). A total of 23.98% (89/371) had at least one EAD, including 27.06% (82/303) in type 1 AIH, 11.11% (7/63) in antibody-negative AIH, and none in type 2. A single EAD was the most common (20.21%, 75/371). The most frequent EADs were Sjogren’s syndrome (8.63%) and autoimmune thyroid disease (8.36%). Compared with patients without EADs, those with EADs had lower alanine aminotransferase, red blood cell, and hemoglobin levels, but higher aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio and antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity (all P < 0.05). ANA positivity was independently associated with EADs (odds ratio = 2.209, 95% confidence interval = 1.242–3.927, P = 0.007). After three months of treatment, the complete biochemical response rate was lower in the EADs group than in the non-EADs group (40.0% vs. 55.3%, P = 0.024), whereas no significant differences were observed at 6, 12, 24, or 36 months (all P > 0.05).ConclusionsIn the Han Chinese population, 23.98% of AIH patients had EADs, with Sjogren’s syndrome and autoimmune thyroid disease being the most common. ANA positivity was a significant risk factor for EADs. EAD patients had a poorer initial treatment response at three months, but comparable long-term biochemical response from six months.

Spermatozoa exit the testis in an immotile and immature state, and obtain motility and maturity in the epididymis with the most abundant functions acquired in its initial segment (IS). The reshaping of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) exposure on the epididymis, however, has never been studied in detail yet, let alone from a multi-omic perspective. Herein, we utilized single-cell transcriptomics, untargeted metabolomics and in vivo experiments to explore PS-NPs-induced cellular remodeling of rat IS. A dose-dependent decrease in the epithelial thickness was merely observed in the IS (Control vs. low vs. medium vs. high group, 38.33 ± 2.52 vs. 32.67 ± 3.15 vs. 21.67 ± 3.58 vs. 11.08 ± 1.67 μm, respectively; P < 0.001) instead of the other three epididymal segments. PS-NPs exposure inhibited the acidification of epididymal luminal fluid (Control vs. low vs. medium vs. high group, pH, 6.05 ± 0.19 vs. 6.35 ± 0.14 vs. 6.57 ± 0.23 vs. 6.70 ± 0.24, respectively; P < 0.001), downregulated sperm acrosome reaction (Control vs. low vs. medium vs. high group, 42.67 ± 4.62% vs. 36.38 ± 4.04% vs. 28.07 ± 3.46% vs. 17.69 ± 2.52%, respectively; P < 0.05), and reduced sperm motility (Control vs. low vs. medium vs. high group, 83.08 ± 4.02% vs. 76.33 ± 2.08% vs. 70.67 ± 3.79% vs. 65.33 ± 2.89%, respectively; P < 0.01). Cell apoptosis after exposure existed across the IS without cell type-specificity. Besides, we found altered metabolic landscape and dysregulatory amino acid metabolites after exposure. Interestingly, cell-cell communication together with pseudotime trajectory delineated that PS-NPs facilitated NK cell differentiation towards cytotoxic and proliferative subtypes, during which ICAM and TNF signalings were upregulated. Moreover, PS-NPs exposure upregulated AQP9 through activating ERK1/2 in principal cells. Furthermore, we observed dysfunctions and ultrastructural defects of blood-epididymal barrier with downregulated protein levels of tight junction (VIM, SOX9, KRT5 and β-catenin) and upregulated ROS levels in basal cells. In summary, we offer previously unidentified insights into the contribution of PS-NPs in epididymal IS and extend on existing knowledge of environmental contaminant-induced epididymis damage that merits future investigation.Graphical abstractSupplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-025-03892-z.

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is linked to the development of childhood asthma, but little is known about PAH exposure-single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) involved in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling pathway interactions on childhood asthma. This study aimed to investigated the effects of PAH exposure interactions with SNPs in the AHR signaling pathway on childhood asthma and characterized the molecular pathway of asthma genetic risk based on the metabolome. A total of 370 children were included in the current study. Serum fluoranthene, benz(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(k)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene levels were significantly associated with childhood asthma. SNP genotyping analysis revealed that CYP1A1 rs4646421 was significantly associated with childhood asthma (OR: 2.404, 95% CI: 1.542–3.747) in Chinese children. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction analysis showed significant interactions between PAH exposure and rs4646421, increasing the risk of childhood asthma. Expression quantitative trait loci analysis showed that the rs4646421-AA genotype was significantly associated with the increased expression of CYP1A1. Mediation analysis identified six serum lipid metabolites associated with rs4646421 that mediated the effect of the rs4646421-AA genotype on childhood asthma. To verify the potential biological function of rs4646421, a model of CYP1A1-overexpressing human bronchial epithelial cells was constructed. The results showed that CYP1A1 overexpression downregulated serine palmitoyl transferase expression by decreasing AHR/ARNT2 levels, and subsequently reduced C16-ceramide synthesis and upregulated the expression of inflammatory factors associated with asthma in the human bronchial epithelial cells. This study provided the evidence of the interactions between PAH exposure and CYP1A1 rs4646421 in increasing childhood asthma susceptibility in Chinese, suggesting that rs4646421 played a functional role in childhood asthma by affecting the expression of CYP1A1, thereby interfering with lipid metabolism.Graphical abstractSupplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12931-025-03428-x.