Significance of levothyroxine treatment on serum lipid in pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism.

BACKGROUND: There is no consensus reference range for serum lipid levels during pregnancy. The benefit of levothyroxine (L-T4) on serum lipid levels are unclear among pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH). OBJECTIVE: To determine the recommended reference ranges for serum lipid concentrations during pregnancy and effects of L-T4 treatment on serum lipids in pregnant women with SCH. DESIGN: Cohort study. METHODS: A analysis of 20,365 women in the first trimester was conducted at Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University during 2018-2020. After excluding women with adverse pregnancy outcomes, we determined the reference range of serum lipid in the first and third trimesters of pregnancy by using median and quartile to determine appropriate percentiles. Next, we divided into three groups as follows: SCH L-T4 treatment group (n = 319), SCH non-intervention group (n = 103) and the control group(n = 9598). RESULTS: The recommended reference range for serum lipids in the first trimester of pregnancy should be: TC < 5.33 mmol/L, TG < 1.73 mmol/L, LDL-C < 3.12 mmol/L and HDL-C > 1.1 mmol/L, and in third trimester of pregnancy should be: TC < 8.47 mmol/L, TG < 4.86 mmol/L, LDL-C < 5.3 mmol/L and HDL-C > 1.34 mmol/L. There are significant differences in TC and LDL-C levels between SCH treatment group and SCH non-intervention Group (P = 0.043, P = 0.046; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: We determine the recommended reference ranges for serum lipid concentrations during pregnancy. TC and LDL-C levels in pregnant women with SCH could improve after L-T4 treatment.

[Interleukin-8 monoclonal antibody attenuates smooth muscle cell proliferation and balloon inflation-induced abdominal aorta stenosis in rabbits].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of interleukin-8 monoclonal antibody on smooth muscle cell proliferation and balloon inflation-induced abdominal aorta stenosis in rabbits. METHODS: Thirty-six New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to balloon inflation group (group A, n = 12), interleukin-8 monoclonal antibody pre-treated rabbits (2 mg/kg for 3 days before balloon inflation, group B, n = 12) and sham-operated control group (group C, n = 12). Peripheral blood was collected before experiment and at 4 h, 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days post balloon inflation or sham operation and the levels of IL-8 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ratio of positive and negative masculine cells in the high power microscopic field was determined in proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) stained slide. Histopathologic examination was performed in abdominal aorta and luminal area, intima and tunica media area were measured. RESULTS: Plasma interleukin-8 began to rise at 4 h and peaked at 1 day and remained increased up to 28 days after balloon inflation in rabbits of group A, plasma interleukin-8 level in group A was significantly higher than in group B and C at 4 h and thereafter post operation. The ratio of positive and negative masculine cells was significantly increased in group A compared to group C and was significantly lower in group B than in group A. Abdominal aorta stenosis, luminal area, intima and tunica media area were significantly reduced in group B than in group A. Correlation analysis indicated that there were positive relations between plasma IL-8 level and intima thickness, area of intima and tunica media, respectively (r = 0.894, 0.783, 0.801, 0.912, all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma IL-8 level is increased in this abdominal aorta stenosis model and is positively correlated to the severity of abdominal aorta stenosis. IL-8 monoclonal antibody could significantly reduce abdominal aorta stenosis in this abdominal aorta stenosis model.

LncRNA DANCR Promotes Sorafenib Resistance via Activation of IL-6/STAT3 Signaling in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major malignancies and the second most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Sorafenib, an approved first-line systematic treatment agent for HCC, is capable to effectively improve the survival of patients with advanced HCC. The long-noncoding RNA (lncRNA) differentiation antagonizing non-protein coding RNA (DANCR) has been reported to exert oncogenic functions in several kinds of human cancers. However, the role of lncRNA DANCR in sorafenib resistance in HCC remains unknown. METHODS: The expression levels of DANCR in HCC tissues were detected by qRT-PCR. DANCR overexpression and knockdown models were established and utilized to investigate the functional role of DANCR on sorafenib resistance in HCC cells. The MS2-binding sequences-MS2-binding protein-based RNA immunoprecipitation assay, RNA pull-down and luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the association between DANCR and PSMD10 mRNA. The activation of DANCR transcription mediated by STAT3 was assessed by luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. RESULTS: We found that DANCR was significantly overexpressed in HCC tissues and associated with prognosis of HCC patients. Overexpression and knockdown experiments demonstrated that DANCR promoted sorafenib resistance in HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the role of DANCR relied largely on the association with PSMD10. DANCR stabilized PSMD10 mRNA through blocking the repressing effect of several microRNAs on PSMD10. Besides, DANCR activated IL-6/STAT3 signaling via PSMD10. Furthermore, we revealed that DANCR transcription was enhanced by the activation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling, indicating a positive feedback loop of DANCR and IL-6/STAT3 signaling. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our study is the first to elucidate the mechanism of DANCR-mediated sorafenib resistance via PSMD10-IL-6/STAT3 signaling axis, which provides a promising target for developing new therapeutic strategy for sorafenib tolerance of HCC.

[Effect of broken black tea on the formation of dental enamel and the contents of twelve kinds of chemical elements].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of broken black tea with slightly hyper-normal fluoride content which was near the level of people tea-drinking habits on enamel morphological structure and its content of chemical elements. Thirty six rats were divided randomly into 3 groups: one was control group and another two groups fed with broken black tea infusion with F- content of 8.2 mg/l and 16.4 mg/l, respectively. After 360 days, collected 144 teeth, observed their morphological structure by electron micrograph, Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) and also analyzed concentrations of several chemical elements in tooth by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). Chronic dental fluorosis in rats was induced by treatment with broken black tea with slightly hyper-normal fluoride content. Hyper-calcification and hypo-calcification appeared in enamel of those teeth from both broken black tea treated groups in dose-dependent manner. Twelve kinds of chemical elements, such as Ca, Mg, P, Al, Cl were examined. The contents of Ca, P, Mg were reduced and that of Al and Cl were increased significantly. Compared with control group, the levels of Si, S, Fe were lower in those teeth from treated group (broken black tea with the F- content of 8.2 mg/l), while higher in those teeth from treated group (broken black tea with the F- content of 16.4 mg/l). Long-term drinking broken black tea with hyper-normal fluoride content could cause chronic dental fluorosis, and its injury in enamel was related with Hyper-calcification and hypo-calcification mainly. Those changes of several chemical elements level in enamel, such as Ca, P, Al, Cl, were suggested that these chemical elements have influences on the development and mineralization of enamel.