TM9SF1 offers utility as an efficient predictor of clinical severity and mortality among acute respiratory distress syndrome patients.

Introduction: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major cause of death among critically ill patients in intensive care settings, underscoring the need to identify biomarkers capable of predicting ARDS patient clinical status and prognosis at an early time point. This study specifically sought to explore the utility and clinical relevance of TM9SF1 as a biomarker for the early prediction of disease severity and prognostic outcomes in patients with ARDS. Methods: This study enrolled 123 patients with severe ARDS and 116 patients with non-severe ARDS for whom follow-up information was available. The mRNA levels of TM9SF1 and cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from these patients were evaluated by qPCR. The predictive performance of TM9SF1 and other clinical indicators was evaluated using received operating characteristic (ROC) curves. A predictive nomogram was developed based on TM9SF1 expression and evaluated for its ability in the early prediction of severe disease and mortality in patients with ARDS. Results: TM9SF1 mRNA expression was found to be significantly increased in patients with severe ARDS relative to those with non-severe disease or healthy controls. ARDS severity increased in correspondence with the level of TM9SF1 expression (odds ratio [OR] = 2.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.15-3.72, P = 0.005), and high TM9SF1 levels were associated with a greater risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.27, 95% CI = 2.20-4.39, P = 0.001). ROC curves demonstrated that relative to other clinical indicators, TM9SF1 offered superior performance in the prediction of ARDS severity and mortality. A novel nomogram incorporating TM9SF1 expression together with age, D-dimer levels, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels was developed and was used to predict ARDS severity (AUC = 0.887, 95% CI = 0.715-0.943). A separate model incorporating TM9SF1 expression, age, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and D-dimer levels (C-index = 0.890, 95% CI = 0.627-0.957) was also developed for predicting mortality. Conclusion: Increases in ARDS severity and patient mortality were observed with rising levels of TM9SF1 expression. TM9SF1 may thus offer utility as a novel biomarker for the early prediction of ARDS patient disease status and clinical outcomes.

PDCD5 as a Potential Biomarker for Improved Prediction of the Incidence and Remission for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often involves an altered T-cell subpopulation, higher levels of inflammatory cytokines, and auto-antibodies. This study investigated whether PDCD5 could be a biomarker to predict the incidence and remission of RA so as to guide the therapeutic management of clinical RA. METHODS: One hundred fifty-two patients (41 being in both active status and stable remission status) who were newly diagnosed with RA and 38 healthy controls were enrolled. Basic clinical data were collected before using blood samples remaining in the clinic after routine complete blood count. The ability of PDCD5 and important indicators to predict the remission of RA was estimated based on receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: PDCD5 expression was found to be significantly increased in RA patients in active status in comparison with healthy controls or those in stable remission status. Compared with anti-CCP, ESR and DAS28 score, PDCD5 was of better predictive value with an AUC of 0.846 (95% CI 0.780-0.912) for RA remission. The incidence risk of RA increased with higher levels of PDCD5 (OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.45-1.98, P = 0.005) in multiple logistic regression analysis, with the risk increasing by 2.94-times for high-risk group in comparison with low-risk group (OR = 2.94, 95% CI = 2.35-4.62, P < 0.001). The association between PDCD5 and RA remission showed a similar result. For correlation analysis, significant associations were eventually found between PDCD5 and indicated genes (FOXP3, TNF-α, IL-17A, IFN-γ and IL-6) as well as several important clinical parameters including IgG, RF, CRP, ESR, anti-CCP and DAS28 score. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that increased PDCD5 expression was significantly linked to the incidence and remission of RA. PDCD5 may be used as a novel biomarker for the prediction of RA incidence and remission, especially due to its potential involvement in the development of the condition.

The cysteine-rich region of a baculovirus VP91 protein contributes to the morphogenesis of occlusion bodies.

The baculovirus core gene vp91 has been reported to be essential for nucleocapsid assembly and oral infection. Here, we studied the function of vp91 by analyzing its homologue, ha76, in Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV). HA76 was expressed at the late stage of HearNPV infection; deletion of ha76 showed that the gene is required for budded virus production. A series of recombinants with truncated ha76 was constructed and analyzed in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that the region encoding the C-terminus of HA76 was essential for nucleocapsid assembly, whereas the N-terminal cysteine-rich region was responsible for oral infection. Electron microscope analyses further showed that the cysteine-rich region contributed to morphogenesis of occlusion bodies (OBs), with amino acids 136-223 of HA76 being critical for this function. The results revealed a novel function of VP91 and suggested that the impact on OB morphogenesis is partially related to oral infectivity.

Baculovirus ODV-E66 degrades larval peritrophic membrane to facilitate baculovirus oral infection.

ODV-E66 is a major envelope proteins of baculovirus occlusion derived virus (ODV) with chondroitinase activity. Here, we studied the roles of ODV-E66 during Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV) primary infection. ODV-E66 is a late viral protein dispensable for BV production and ODV morphogenesis. Deletion of odv-e66 had a profound effect on HearNPV oral infectivity in 4th instar larvae with a 50% lethal concentration (LC50) value of 26 fold higher than that of the repaired virus, compared to in 3rd instar larvae. Calcofluor white, an agent which destroys the peritrophic membrane (PM), could rescue the oral infectivity of odv-e66 deleted HearNPV, implying the PM may be the target of ODV-E66. In vitro assays showed HearNPV ODV-E66 has chondroitinase activity. Electron microscopy demonstrated that odv-e66 deletion alleviated the damage to the PM caused by HearNPV infection. These data suggest an important role of ODV-E66 in the penetration of the PM during oral infection.