Peripheral blood circular RNA circ-0008102 may serve as a novel clinical biomarker in beta-thalassemia patients.

Circular RNA circ-0008102 has previously been found dysregulated in ß-thalassemia (ß-thal) in circRNAs microarray (GSE196682 and GSE241141). Our study is aimed at identifying whether circ-0008102 could be a novel biomarker in ß-thal. The peripheral blood of pediatric ß-thal patients with (n = 39) or without (n = 20) blood transfusion and healthy controls (n = 30) was selected. qRT-PCR, ROC curve analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and FISH were used to analyze clinical value of circ-0008102. qRT-PCR confirmed that circ-0008102 expression in pediatric ß-thal patients without blood transfusion was significantly higher. ROC curves analysis showed that the AUC of circ-0008102 for differentiating patients without blood transfusion from patients with blood transfusion and healthy controls with an AUC of 0.733 and 0.711. Furthermore, circ-0008102 expression was positively correlated with the levels of RBC, HbF, ß-globin, and γ-globin mRNA, but was negatively corrected with the levels of HbA and Cr. circ-0008102 was mainly located in the cytoplasm. circ-0008102 could induce the activation of γ-globin and negatively regulate the expression of the five highest-ranking candidate miRNAs (miR-372-3p, miR-329-5p, miR-198, miR-152-5p, and miR-627-3p) in K562 cells. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that peripheral blood upregulated circ-0008102 may serve as a novel clinical biomarker for pediatric ß-thal without blood transfusion. WHAT IS KNOWN: • CircRNAs are known to be involved in various human diseases, and several circRNAs are regarded as a class of promising blood-based biomarkers for detection of ß-thal. • CircRNAs exert biological functions by epigenetic modification and gene expression regulation, and dysregulated circRNAs in ß-thal might be involved in the induction of HbF in ß-thal. WHAT IS NEW: • Peripheral blood circ-0008102 maybe serve as a novel clinical biomarker for detection of pediatric ß-thal without blood transfusion. • Circ-0008102 participates in the pathogenesis of ß-thal through regulating γ-globin expression, and negatively regulates the expression of miR-372-3p, miR-329-5p, miR-198, miR-152-5p and miR-627-3p.

Local treatment benefits patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of local treatment (LT), including radiotherapy (RT) and cytoreductive prostatectomy (CRP), in improving outcomes for patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer (OmPCa). METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of articles from PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science published between 2010 and November 2023 were conducted. The study included 11 articles, comprising three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and eight retrospective analyses. The study assessed overall survival (OS), radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) PFS, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and complication rate (CR). RESULTS: OS was significantly improved in the LT group, with both RCTs and non-RCTs showing statistical significance [hazard ratios (HR) = 0.64; 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), 0.51-0.80; p < 0.0001; HR = 0.55; 95% CIs, 0.40-0.77; p = 0.0004]. For rPFS, RCTs did not show statistically significant outcomes (HR = 0.60; 95% CIs, 0.34-1.07; p = 0.09), whereas non-RCTs demonstrated significant results (HR = 0.42; 95% CIs, 0.24-0.72; p = 0.002). Both RCTs and non-RCTs showed a significant improvement in PSA-PFS (HR = 0.44; 95%CI, 0.29-0.67; p = 0.0001; HR = 0.51; 95% CIs, 0.32-0.81; p = 0.004). For CSS, RCTs demonstrated statistical differences (HR = 0.65; 95% CIs, 0.47-0.90; p = 0.009), whereas non-RCTs did not (HR = 0.61; 95% CIs, 0.29-1.27; p = 0.19). Regarding CR, the risk difference was -0.22 (95% CIs, -0.32 to -0.12; p < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: LT significantly improved OS and PFS in patients with OmPCa. Further RCTs are necessary to confirm these results.

First Report of Filipino ß0-Thalassemia/ß-Thalassemia in a Chinese Family.

A pregnant woman living in Fujian Province, southeastern China, presented due to a risk of having a baby with ß-thalassemia major, during her second pregnancy, since she and her husband were suspected as ß-thalassemia carriers and their affected daughter was a transfusion-dependent patient. Using the common α-thalassemia and ß-thalassemia genotypes test, the pregnant woman was diagnosed as a ß-thalassemia carrier with ßIVS-2 - 654 (C→T)/ßN genotype and her daughter had a homozygosity for IVS - 2 - 654 (C→T) mutation, however, no abnormalities were detected in her husband. SMRT identified a Filipino ß0-deletion in her husband, and MLPA also revealed an unknown deletion in the HBB gene. Electrophoresis showed approximately 350 bp of the PCR product, and the ß-Filipino genotype presented novel fracture fragments ranging from 5,112,884 to 5,231,358 bp, and lacked a 118,475 bp fragment relative to the wild-type sequence. The daughter was therefore diagnosed with the ßIVS-2 - 654 (C→T)/ßFilipino genotype. Prenatal diagnosis with umbilical cord blood at 27th week of gestation showed heteroztgosity for IVS - 2 - 654 (C→T) mutation in the fetus and continued pregnancy was recommended. In conclusion, we identified the Filipino ß0-deletion in a Chinese family, from Fujian area, for the first time, during prenatal screening.

The longitudinal association between adverse childhood experiences, childhood socioeconomic status, and lung function among middle-aged and older adults.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), childhood socioeconomic status (SES) with lung function among general Chinese middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: Participants at baseline were 9052 individuals aged 45 years old and above from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a population-based cohort of Chinese adults. Analyses were conducted with data from three waves (2011, 2013, and 2015). The ACEs included five threat-related indicators (i.e., physical abuse, household substance abuse, domestic violence, unsafe neighborhood, and bullying) and five deprivation-related adversities (i.e., emotional neglect, household mental illness, incarcerated household member, parental separation or divorce, and parental death). The cumulative score of threat-related and deprivation-related ACEs was used for analysis. Lung function was assessed by peak expiratory flow (PEF). Two-level linear mixed growth models were used to evaluate the longitudinal association between and ACEs, childhood SES, and PEF. RESULTS: Participants with more than three deprivation-related ACEs were significantly associated with lower PEF (b = -11.45 L/min, 95%CI: -18.40, -4.49) after adjusting for multiple confounding factors. Threat-related ACEs were not associated with PFF. Father's illiterate education predicted lower lung function (b = -8.49 L/min, 95%CI: -11.68, -5.31) for all middle-aged and older adults while mother's illiterate education was only significantly associated with PEF among the men (b = -9.21 L/min, 95%CI: -18.20, -0.22), and middle-aged adults (b = -7.96 L/min, 95%CI: -14.35, -1.57). DISCUSSION: ACEs and disadvantaged childhood SES are important predictors of lower lung function during adulthood. Reducing ACEs and improving childhood SES may be beneficial for long-term health development.

Construction of Bi/Bi2O3 particles embedded in carbon sheets for boosting the storage capacity of potassium-ion batteries.

Bismuth-based materials have attracted interest in potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). However, the large volume expansion prevents further use of bismuth-based materials for potassium storage. This work employs a two-step synthesis method to innovatively synthesize of Bi/Bi2O3 nanoparticles assembled on N-doped porous carbon sheets (Bi/Bi2O3@CN). The layered structures with uniformly shaped and N-doped porous carbon skeleton buffer the expansion of Bi and the Bi/Bi2O3 particles increase the capacity of potassium storage. In brief, the Bi/Bi2O3@CN served as anode in half-cell of PIBs have a good rate capacity of more than 234.7 mAh/g at 20 A/g. The specific capacity retention was 73 % compared with 322.16 mAh/g at 1 A/g, demonstrating good holding capacity for diverse current densities. The cycle also displays 163 mAh/g after 1500 cycles at 2 A/g in the KPF6 metal salt solution, showing its potential as one of the anode materials in PIBs.

Sast1-mediated manifold effects inhibit Plutella xylostella fertility.

BACKGROUND: Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) is a destructive pest of cruciferous crops due to its strong reproductive capacity and extensive resistance to pesticides. Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are the main effective factors that determine the reproductive physiology and behaviour of both sexes. Although an increasing number of SFPs have been identified, the effects of astacins in SFPs on agricultural pests have not yet been reported. Here, we elucidated the mechanisms by which Sast1 (seminal astacin 1) regulates the fertility of Plutella xylostella (L.). RESULTS: PxSast1 was specifically expressed in the testis and accesssory gland. CRISPR/Cas9-induced PxSast1 knockout successfully constructed two homozygous mutant strains. Sast1 impaired the fertility of P. xylostella by separately regulating the reproductive capacity of males and females. Loss of PxSast1, on the one hand, significantly decreased the ability of males to mate and fertilize, mainly manifested as shortened mating duration, reduced mating competitiveness and decreased eupyrene sperm production; on the other hand, it significantly inhibited the expression of chorion genes in females, resulting in oogenesis deficits. Simultaneously, for mated females, the differentially expressed genes in signalling pathways related to oogenesis and chorion formation were significantly enriched after PxSast1 knockout. CONCLUSION: These analyses of the functions of PxSast1 as the regulator of spermatogenesis and oogenesis establish its importance in the fertility process of P. xylostella, as well as its potential as a promising target for genetic regulation-based pest control. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.