Development of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 family and its association with lung diseases: a narrative review.

Background and Objective: Dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)4 is a member of a subfamily of serine peptidase S9. DPP4, expressed as a type II transmembrane protein, has a wide tissue distribution and is most active in the lung and small intestine. Many substrates of DPP4 have been identified, including neuropeptides, chemokines, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptides (GIPs). DPP4 inhibitors are clinically useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. DPP9, an N-terminal dipeptide targeting enzyme with proline or alanine, may have DPP4-like activity. DPP9 is ubiquitously expressed at human and rodent messenger RNA (mRNA) levels and therefore may play a role in the immune system and epithelial cells. It has been shown that DPP9 plays an important signaling role in the regulation of survival and proliferation pathways and is also involved in cell migration, apoptosis, and cell adhesion. In recent years, there has been further progress in DPP9 inhibition through activation of apoptosis by the inflammasome sensor protein Nlrp1b. This study aims to investigate the association of DPP4 family members and DPP9 with lung disease. Methods: The literature search was initiated using the PubMed database. We searched for the content (DPP4) AND (Lung Diseases), (DPP9) AND (Lung Diseases), from which we filtered the literature we needed. Key Content and Findings: Given the high biological activity of the DPP4 family, their involvement in various lung diseases is highly relevant. There is growing evidence for the importance of DPP4 and DPP9 of the DPP4 family in lung diseases, which are closely associated with diseases such as asthma, lung infections, pulmonary fibrosis (PF), and lung cancer. Conclusions: This review summarizes most of the current evidence that DPP4/9 is associated with lung disease. Within the DPP4 family, the role of DPP4 in particular in respiratory disease is important.

Associated factors with constipation and health-related quality of life in lung cancer patients with platinum-based chemotherapy: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: The main purpose of this study was to investigate current state of constipation for lung cancer (LC) patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. The relationships between social demography, clinical variables, psychological status, and constipation were analyzed. In addition, quality of life (QoL) in LC patients with constipation was also analyzed. One hundred LC patients participated in this cross-sectional study. Under the guidance of the researchers, Functional Living Index-Emesis, Piper Fatigue Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 (version 3.0), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, General Well-being Scale, Social Support Rate Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and other related questionnaires were completed. The result showed the symptom of constipation was observed in 41 (41%) LC patients. The occurrence and development of constipation were associated with gender, food intake, exercise, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and happiness. The study also found patients with constipation had significant lower QoL scores, especially the score in the general state. Constipation was very common in LC patients undergoing platinum-based chemotherapy. Reduced food intake and fatigue were the independent factors. Constipation significantly affects the QoL of the patients. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the risk factors of constipation in LC patients undergoing platinum-based chemotherapy, the earlier intervention was done to these patients, the better to improve their QoL.

Health-related quality of life assessed by Gout Impact Scale (GIS) in Chinese patients with gout.

OBJECTIVE: The Gout Impact Scale (GIS) is a disease-specific health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) measurement for patients with gout. This study aimed to investigate the quality of life in Chinese patients with gout and potential risk factors for poorer HR-QoL by GIS. METHODS: Adults with gout from February 2017 to February 2019 were invited to complete a questionnaire containing the GIS, social demographic characteristics, clinical information and gout-specific questions. Pearson/Spearman correlation and linear regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A total of 413 patients were included in the analysis (mean age, 51.85 years; 96.4% male). The mean (SD) score of GIS total was 56.79 ± 15.45. Worse gout-specific HR-QoL was associated with anxiety (p < .05), depression (p < .05) and fatigue (p < .05). The effectiveness and global satisfaction of Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) were negatively related to each dimension of GIS. Age (B = -0.251, p = .013), fatigue (B = 1.850, p < .001) and depression (B = 9.068, p = .042) were independent predictors of GIS total score. CONCLUSION: Gout-specific HR-QoL is impaired by social demographic and clinical characteristics, highlighting the importance of psychological factors (fatigue and depression) and patient-reported outcomes (patients' satisfaction and confidence in gout treatment). These findings suggest that more studies should focus on disease-specific HR-QoL.

Surface Engineering of Polycrystalline Silicon for Long-Term Mechanical Stress Endurance Enhancement in Flexible Low-Temperature Poly-Si Thin-Film Transistors.

The surface morphology in polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) film is an issue regardless of whether conventional excimer laser annealing (ELA) or the newer metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) process is used. This paper investigates the stress distribution while undergoing long-term mechanical stress and the influence of stress on electrical characteristics. Our simulated results show that the nonuniform stress in the gate insulator is more pronounced near the polysilicon/gate insulator edge and at the two sides of the polysilicon protrusion. This stress results in defects in the gate insulator and leads to a nonuniform degradation phenomenon, which affects both the performance and the reliability in thin-film transistors (TFTs). The degree of degradation is similar regardless of bending axis (channel-length axis, channel-width axis) or bending type (compression, tension), which means that the degradation is dominated by the protrusion effects. Furthermore, by utilizing long-term electrical bias stresses after undergoing long-tern bending stress, it is apparent that the carrier injection is severe in the subchannel region, which confirms that the influence of protrusions is crucial. To eliminate the influence of surface morphology in poly-Si, three kinds of laser energy density were used during crystallization to control the protrusion height. The device with the lowest protrusions demonstrates the smallest degradation after undergoing long-term bending.

[The study on 235delC mutation of GJB2 gene in patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the rate of 235delC mutation in GJB2 gene in patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss, and to explore its possible correlation with pathogenesis of idiopathic sudden hearing loss. METHOD: Two hundred and thirty-four patients with diagnosis of idiopathic sudden hearing loss in otolaryngology department were recruited as experimental group. Eighty people with normal hearing level were enrolled as control group. Their peripheral blood samples were obtained and genomic DNA was extracted. Using polymerase chain reaction, the coding region of GJB2 gene was amplified, and 235delC mutation is screened for in GJB2 gene by restriction endonuclease. At same time the clinical data of 234 patients was collected to analyze. RESULT: In 234 cases of idiopathic sudden hearing loss, 5 cases were found to have heterozygous 235delC mutation, none of them harbored homozygous 235delC mutation, the 235delC mutation rate was 2.1% (5/234). No 235delC mutation was found in control group. The rate of 235delC mutation in two group showed no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This research shows that the rate of 235delC mutation in GJB2 is low in patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss, and suggest that 235delC mutation possible has no correlation with idiopathic sudden hearing loss.