The relationship between serum sialic acid and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein with prehypertension.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to evaluate the serum concentration of sialic acid (SA) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in prehypertensive patients and the possible correlations between these 2 factors with blood pressure in such patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 61 prehypertensive patients, 70 hypertensive patients, and 50 controls with normal blood pressure. Lipid profile, hs-CRP, SA, and body mass index (BMI) were estimated in all groups. Associations between SA and hs-CRP and blood pressure were analyzed using multiple linear regressions. RESULTS: SA and hs-CRP levels were higher in the prehypertension group than that in the control group and were lower than that in the hypertension group. Multiple linear regression demonstrated that fasting glucose, BMI, SA, and hs-CRP correlated with systolic blood pressure and that low-density lipoprotein, BMI, SA, and hs-CRP correlated independently with diastolic pressure (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that in prehypertension, there is an association between serum SA and hs-CRP levels and blood pressure.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification for detection of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy cow suffering from mastitis.

To develop a rapid detection method of Staphylococcus aureus using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), four specific primers were designed according to six distinct sequences of the nuc gene. In addition, the specificity and sensitivity of LAMP were verified and compared with those of PCR. Results showed that the LAMP reaction was completed within 45 min at 62.5°C, and ladder bands were appeared in LAMP products analyzed by gel electrophoresis. After adding 1x SYBR Green l, the positive reaction tube showed green color and the negative reaction tube remained orange, indicating that the LAMP has high specificity. The minimal detectable concentration of LAMP was 1 × 10² CFU/mL and that of PCR was 1 × 104 CFU/mL, indicating that the LAMP was 100 times more sensitive than the PCR. The LAMP method for detection of Staphylococcus aureus has many advantages, such as simple operation, high sensitivity, high specificity, and rapid analysis. Therefore, this method is more suitable for the rapid on-site detection of Staphylococcus aureus.

Intermittent high glucose promotes expression of proinflammatory cytokines in monocytes.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: The aim of this study was to examine expression of proinflammatory cytokines in monocytes under fluctuating glucose conditions. MATERIAL AND TREATMENT: Monocytic cells (THP-1) were divided into four groups and cultured in the presence of 5 or 15 mmol/L glucose or in fluctuating conditions (12 h exposure to 15 mmol/L glucose or mannitol medium followed by 12 h exposure to 5 mmol/L glucose or mannitol medium) respectively. METHODS: Levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the supernatants and surface expression of CD11b in monocytes were measured after 72 h culture. Paired Student's t tests were used to compare two groups and ANOVA for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Activation of monocytes was most pronounced in the fluctuating glucose conditions, as measured by concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α in cultured supernatants and surface expression of CD11b in monocytes (P < 0.05). Fluctuating mannitol also induced a proinflammatory profile, but to a lesser extent than fluctuating glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that exposure to fluctuating glucose concentrations enhanced activation of monocytes compared with stable elevation of glucose concentrations. The effects were partly attributable to the inherent osmotic changes.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in VEGF gene are associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma.

We aimed to assess whether the five common SNPs can affect the risk of osteosarcoma, and its association with demographic characteristics of osteosarcoma. 165 osteosarcoma patients and 330 cancer-free controls were enrolled into our study. Five common SNPs in VEGF gene, -2578C/A (rs699947), -1156G/A (rs1570360), +1612G/A (rs10434), +936C/T (rs3025039) and -634G/C (rs2010963), were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Conditional logistic regression analyses found that individuals with AA genotype and A allele of rs699947 were associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma. Individuals with GG genotype and G allele of rs2010963 were associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma. By stratified analysis, AA genotype of rs699947 was associated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma in those with shorter age, males and a family history of cancer, and GG genotype of rs2010963 was correlated with an increased risk of osteosarcoma in those with shorter age, females and a family history of cancer. Our study suggests that rs699947 and rs2010963 polymorphisms may play a role in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma.