The aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio: A novel indicator for skeletal muscle mass in Chinese community adults.

OBJECTIVES: The aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) ratio, an indicator for liver fibrosis, could be easily detected in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the AST/ALT ratio and skeletal muscle mass among Chinese community adult residents. METHODS: We enrolled 2644 participants, age ≥18 y, undergoing bioelectrical impedance analysis and liver function test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the effect of the AST/ALT ratio on the presence of low muscle mass (LMM). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the factors associated with the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and to construct a formula to calculate the SMI. RESULTS: When the AST/ALT ratio was regarded as a categorical variable, AST/ALT quartiles 9-2.19) kept independent effects on the presence of LMM status. When it was regarded as a continuous variable, each unit of the AST/ALT ratio was significantly associated with a 49% (P < 0.01) augment of the prevalence of LMM. By multiple general linear regression analysis, the formula was constructed with an adjusted R2 of 0.72: SMI (kg/m2) = -0.14 AST/ALT ratio + 1.35 sex (male: 1; female: 0) + 0.72 overweight status (yes: 1; no: 0) - 0.14 age (≤65: 0; >65: 1) + 6.26. CONCLUSION: In general, the high AST/ALT ratio was an independent adverse indicator of the presence of LMM.

Dexmedetomidine preconditioning ameliorates lung injury induced by pulmonary ischemia/reperfusion by upregulating promoter histone H3K4me3 modification of KGF-2.

Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF)-2 has been highlighted to play a significant role in maintaining the endothelial barrier integrity in lung injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). However, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. The aims of this study were to determine whether dexmedetomidine preconditioning (DexP) modulates pulmonary I/R-induced lung injury through the alteration in KGF-2 expression. In our I/R-modeled mice, DexP significantly inhibited pathological injury, inflammatory response, and inflammatory cell infiltration, while promoted endothelial barrier integrity and KGF-2 promoter activity in lung tissues. Bioinformatics prediction and ChIP-seq revealed that I/R significantly diminished the level of H3K4me3 modification in the KGF-2 promoter, which was significantly reversed by DexP. Moreover, DexP inhibited the expression of histone demethylase JMJD3, which in turn promoted the expression of KGF-2. In addition, overexpression of JMJD3 weakened the protective effect of DexP on lung injury in mice with I/R. Collectively, the present results demonstrated that DexP ameliorates endothelial barrier dysfunction via the JMJD3/KGF-2 axis.

LINC02163 regulates growth and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenotype via miR-593-3p/FOXK1 axis in gastric cancer cells.

Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were involved in promoting gastric cancer (GC) initiation and progression. In the current study, we revealed that the expression level of LINC02163 was elevated in GC cell lines and tissues. Knockdown of LINC02163 inhibited GC cells growth and invasion both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanismly, LINC02163 exerted as a ceRNA and negatively regulated miR-593-3p expression. In addition, FOXK1 was identified as a down-stream target of miR-593-3p. The miR-593-3p/FOXK1 axis mediated LINC02163's effect on GC. To the best of our knowledge, our findings provided the first evidence that LINC02163 functioned as an oncogene in GC. LINC02163 may be a candidate prognostic biomarker and a target for new therapies in GC patients.

Performance of real-time elastography for the staging of hepatic fibrosis: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: With the rapid development of real-time elastography (RTE), a variety of measuring methods have been developed for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis. We evaluated the overall performance of four methods based on RTE by performing meta-analysis of published literature. METHODS: Online journal databases and a manual search from April 2000 to April 2014 were used. Studies from different databases that meet inclusion criteria were enrolled. The statistical analysis was performed using a random-effects model and fixed-effects model for the overall effectiveness of RTE. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was calculated for various means. Fagan plot analysis was used to estimate the clinical utility of RTE, and the heterogeneity of the studies was explored with meta-regression analysis. RESULTS: Thirteen studies from published articles were enrolled and analyzed. The combined AUROC of the liver fibrosis index (LFI) for the evaluation of significant fibrosis (F≥2), advanced fibrosis (F≥3), and cirrhosis (F = 4) were 0.79, 0.94, and 0.85, respectively. The AUROC of the elasticity index (EI) ranged from 0.75 to 0.92 for F≥2 and 0.66 to 0.85 for F = 4. The overall AUROC of the elastic ratio of the liver for the intrahepatic venous vessels were 0.94, 0.93, and 0.96, respectively. The AUROC of the elastic ratio of the liver for the intercostal muscle in diagnosing advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis were 0.96 and 0.92, respectively. There was significant heterogeneity in the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) for F≥2 of LFI mainly due to etiology (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The elastic ratio of the liver for the intrahepatic vein has excellent precision in differentiating each stage of hepatic fibrosis and is recommend to be applied to the clinic.