Serum level of galectin-9 as a potential biomarker for high risk of malignancy in dermatomyositis.

OBJECTIVES: Galectin-9, as immune checkpoint protein, plays a role in regulating autoimmunity and tumour immunity. Therefore, we explored the pathophysiological link between galectin-9 and malignancy in cancer-related DM (CRDM). METHODS: Serum galectin-9 were quantified via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and its association with serological indices was evaluated using Spearman analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was utilized to determine the cut-off value of galectin-9. RESULTS: Serum levels of galectin-9 were significantly higher in DM patients [23.38 (13.85-32.57) ng/ml] than those in healthy controls (HCs) [6.81 (5.42-7.89) ng/ml, P < 0.0001], and were positively correlated with the cutaneous dermatomyositis disease area severity index activity (CDASI-A) scores (rs=0.3065, P = 0.0172). DM patients with new-onset and untreated cancer (new-CRDM) [31.58 (23.85-38.84) ng/ml] had higher levels of galectin-9 than those with stable and treated cancer (stable-CRDM) [17.49 (10.23-27.91) ng/ml, P = 0.0288], non-cancer-related DM (non-CRDM) [21.05 (11.97-28.02) ng/ml, P = 0.0258], and tumour patients without DM [7.46 (4.90-8.51) ng/ml, P < 0.0001]. Serum galectin-9 levels significantly decreased [27.79 (17.04-41.43) ng/ml vs 13.88 (5.15-20.37) ng/ml, P = 0.002] after anti-cancer treatment in CRDM patients. The combination of serum galectin-9 and anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1-γ (anti-TIF1-γ) antibody (AUC = 0.889, 95% CI 0.803-0.977) showed the highest predictive value for the presence of cancer in DM. CONCLUSION: Increased galectin-9 levels were related to tumor progression in CRDM, and galectin-9 was downregulated upon cancer treatment. Monitoring serum galectin-9 levels and anti-TIF1-γ antibodies might be an attractive strategy to achieve tumour diagnosis and predict CRDM outcome.

Perspectives Toward Damage-Tolerant Nanostructure Ceramics.

Advanced ceramic materials and devices call for better reliability and damage tolerance. In addition to their strong bonding nature, there are examples demonstrating superior mechanical properties of nanostructure ceramics, such as damage-tolerant ceramic aerogels that can withstand high deformation without cracking and local plasticity in dense nanocrystalline ceramics. The recent progresses shall be reviewed in this perspective article. Three topics including highly elastic nano-fibrous ceramic aerogels, load-bearing nanoceramics with improved mechanical properties, and implementing machine learning-assisted simulations toolbox in understanding the relationship among structure, deformation mechanisms, and microstructure-properties shall be discussed. It is hoped that the perspectives present here can help the discovery, synthesis, and processing of future structural ceramic materials that are insensitive to processing flaws and local damages in service.

Rapid and inexpensive synthesis of liter-scale SiC aerogels.

Ceramic aerogels are promising materials for thermal insulation and protection under harsh environments. Yet current synthesis methods fail to provide an energy-, time-, and cost-effective route for high-throughput production and large-scale applications, especially for non-oxide ceramic aerogels. Here we reported a way to synthesize SiC aerogels within seconds and over liter scale, with a demonstrated throughput of ~16 L min-1 in a typical lab experiment. The key lies in renovated combustion synthesis and a fast expansion from powder reactants to aerogel products over 1000% in volume. The synthesis process is self-sustainable and requires minimal energy input. The product is very cheap, with an estimated price of ~$0.7 L-1 (~$7 kg-1). The obtained SiC aerogels have excellent thermo-mechanical properties, including low thermal conductivity, high elasticity, and damage tolerance. Our invention not only offers a practical pathway for large-scale applications of ceramic aerogels, but also calls for rethinking of combustion synthesis in one-step conversion from raw chemicals to bulk products ready for practical applications.

[Clinical experience of JIAO Lin in treatment of knee osteoarthritis with manual mobilization of meridian muscle regions].

The paper introduces JIAO Lin's clinical experience in treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) by manual mobilization of meridian muscle regions. Professor JIAO Lin believes that the key to the occurrence and development of KOA lies in the disorder of meridian muscle regions (sinews/fascia). In pathology, four stages are divided, i.e. the acute stage, the blockage stage, the contraction stage and the atrophy stage of muscle regions, characterized as multi-layer, multi-dimensional and multi-morphological distribution. In treatment, based on the principle, "taking pain sites as stimulating points", the sites, with reduced pain threshold and distributed along the meridian muscle regions, are regarded as "acupoints" for intervention. Manual mobilization of meridian muscle regions is the dominant approach, combined with routine acupuncture, heat-sensitive moxibustion, cupping and bloodletting corresponding to the features of syndromes and meridian manifestation at different stages. The comprehensive treatment may restore and reconstruct the physiological functions of the meridian muscle regions around knee joints by "nourishing tendons, strengthening bones and benefiting joints".

Enhanced tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism via indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 induction in dermatomyositis.

OBJECTIVES: Extrahepatic tryptophan (Trp)-kynurenine (Kyn) metabolism via indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) induction was found to be associated with intrinsic immune regulation. However, the Trp-Kyn metabolism-associated immune regulation in dermatomyositis (DM) remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the clinical relevance of the Trp-Kyn metabolism via IDO1 induction in DM. METHODS: Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to examine the serum Kyn and Trp concentrations in DM. In addition, we used X-tile software to determine the optimal cutoff value of the Kyn/Trp ratio, a surrogate marker for Trp-Kyn metabolism. Spearman analysis was performed to evaluate the association of Trp-Kyn metabolism with muscle enzymes and inflammatory markers. RESULTS: DM patients had significantly higher serum Kyn/Trp ratio (× 10-3) when compared with the healthy controls. The serum Kyn/Trp ratio was positively correlated with the levels of muscle enzymes and inflammatory markers. In addition, the serum Kyn/Trp ratio significantly decreased (36.89 (26.00-54.00) vs. 25.00 (18.00-37.00), P = 0.0006) after treatment. DM patients with high serum Kyn/Trp ratio had a significantly higher percentage of muscle weakness symptoms (62.5% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.019) and higher levels of LDH (316.0 (236.0-467.0) vs. 198.0 (144.0-256.0), P = 0.004) and AST (56.5 (35.0-92.2) vs. 23.0 (20.0-36.0), P = 0.002)) than those with low serum Kyn/Trp ratio. Multiple Cox regression analyses identified ln(Kyn/Trp) (HR 4.874, 95% CI 1.105-21.499, P = 0.036) as an independent prognostic predictor of mortality in DM. CONCLUSIONS: DM patients with enhanced Trp-Kyn metabolism at disease onset are characterized by more severe disease status and poor prognosis. Intrinsic immune regulation function via enhanced Trp-Kyn metabolism by IDO1 induction may be a potential therapeutic target in DM. Key Points • HPLC-MS identified increased serum Kyn/Trp ratio in DM patients, which positively correlated with levels of muscle enzymes and inflammatory markers and was downregulated upon treatment. • Cox regression analyses identified ln(Kyn/Trp) as an independent prognostic predictor of mortality in DM. • Monitoring intrinsic immune regulation function should be considered a potential therapeutic target in DM patients.