The function role of HIGD1A in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis from chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND: Accompanied by the growing prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the coexistence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and NAFLD has increased. In the context of CHB, there is limited understanding of the factors that influence the development of NASH. METHODS: We enrolled CHB combined NAFLD patients who had liver biopsy and divided them to NASH vs. non-NASH groups. A whole transcriptome chip was used to examine the expression profiles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNA in biopsied liver tissues. The function analysis of HIGD1A were performed. We knocked down or overexpressed HIGD1A in HepG2.2.15 cells by transient transfection of siRNA-HIGD1A or pcDNA-HIGD1A. In vivo investigations were conducted using hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic mice. RESULTS: In 65 patients with CHB and NAFLD, 28 were patients with NASH, and 37 were those without NASH. After screening 582 differentially expressed mRNAs, GO analysis revealed differentially expressed mRNAs acting on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), which influenced redox enzyme activity. KEGG analysis also shown that they were involved in the NAFLD signaling pathway. The function analysis revealed that HIGD1A was associated with the mitochondrion. Then, both in vivo and in vitro CHB model, HIGD1A was significantly higher in the NASH group than in the non-NASH group. HIGD1A knockdown impaired mitochondrial transmembrane potential and induced cell apoptosis in HepG2.2.15 cells added oleic acid and palmitate. On the contrary, hepatic HIGD1A overexpression ameliorated free fatty acids-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress. Furthermore, HIGD1A reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by increasing glutathione (GSH) expression, but Adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) pathway was not involved. CONCLUSION: Both in vivo and in vitro CHB model, an upward trend of HIGD1A was observed in the NASH-related inflammatory response. HIGDIA played a protective role in cells against oxidative stress. Our data suggested that HIGD1A may be a positive regulator of NASH within the CHB context.

Dexmedetomidine-induced anesthesia in elderly patients undergoing hip replacement surgery.

BACKGROUND: A femoral neck fracture is a common and frequently reported issue in orthopedics, with a greater rate of incidence among the elderly. Due to their advanced age and the presence of some primary diseases, both anesthesia and surgery are increasingly difficult in elderly patients with a femoral neck fractures. In fact, general anesthesia can easily induce complications such as cognitive dysfunction, which is not conducive to postoperative recovery. AIM: To analyze the efficacy of dexmedetomidine in inducing anesthesia for elderly patients undergoing hip replacement surgery. METHODS: A total of 98 elderly patients undergoing hip replacement in our hospital from June 2020 to June 2021 were randomly divided into control group (49 cases) and observation group (49 cases). The control group was given general anesthesia, and the observation group was combined with dexmedetomidine for anesthesia on the basis of the control group. Both groups were observed until the patients were discharged. The vital signs, serum inflammatory factors and renal function indexes of the two groups were compared before, during and 6 h after operation. The postoperative recovery and adverse events of the two groups were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the mean arterial pressure of the two groups, the intraoperative and postoperative 6 h was higher than that before the operation, the intraoperative was lower than the postoperative 6 h (P < 0.05); the blood oxygen saturation of the two groups was higher than that before operation and 6 h after operation, and the observation group was higher than the control group 6 h after operation (P < 0.05). The heart rate of the two groups was lower during and 6 h after operation than that before operation, and higher at 6 h after operation than that during operation (P < 0.05). The levels of serum C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1ß and kidney injury molecule-1 in the two groups were higher during operation and 6 h after operation than those before operation (P < 0.05). The level of serum urea nitrogen in the two groups was higher than that before operation, and that in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). During hospitalization, the first time of getting out of bed, recovery time of grade II muscle strength, recovery time of grade III muscle strength and hospitalization time in the observation group were shorter than those in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dexmedetomidine can effectively improve the vital signs of elderly patients undergoing hip replacement surgery, reduce the body's inflammatory response and renal function damage, and promote postoperative recovery. Meanwhile, dexmedetomidine showcased a good safety profile and a good anesthetic outcome.

Clinical Features of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in the Non-Lean Population.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in non-lean patients is significantly increased, and obesity significantly increases the risk of cirrhosis and HCC in NAFLD patients. However, whether there is a difference in clinical manifestations of NAFLD between overweight and obesity remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical and histological features of NAFLD among a non-lean population. METHODS: Current study enrolled consecutive non-lean (body mass index [BMI] >23 kg/m2) patients with NAFLD and available liver biopsy results. Patients were stratified by BMI into two groups for the comparison of their clinical and histological variables, which included the overweight (BMI 23∼<28 kg/m2) and the obese (BMI ≥28 kg/m2). Risk factors for moderate to severe fibrosis (stage >1) were also analyzed through the logistic regression model. RESULTS: Among 184 non-lean patients with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease enrolled, 65 and 119 were overweight and obese, respectively. Patients in the obesity group had a significantly lower level of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, higher levels of platelet, glucose, prothrombin time, and more common of moderate to severe inflammatory activity when compared to those in the overweight group. However, a significant low frequency of moderate to severe fibrosis was found in the obesity group versus the overweight group (19.33% vs. 40.00%, p = 0.002). Binary logistics regression analysis of fibrosis found that aspartate transaminase (AST), BMI, alanine transaminase (ALT), and cholesterol (CHOL) were independent predictors for moderate to severe fibrosis in non-lean patients with NAFLD. Compared with the traditional fibrosis-4 (AUC = 0.77) and aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (AUC = 0.79) indexes, the combined index based on AST, BMI, ALT, and CHOL was more accurate in predicting moderate to severe fibrosis in non-lean patients with NAFLD (AUC = 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical and histological features differed between obesity and overweight patients with NAFLD. When compared to the traditional serum markers, the combination index including AST, BMI, ALT, and CHOL provided a better model to predict moderate to severe fibrosis in non-lean patients with NAFLD.

Development and clinical evaluation of a new gold-immunochromatographic assay for the detection of antibodies against field strains of pseudorabies virus.

An immunochromatographic strip (ICS) was developed for the detection of swine antibodies against glycoprotein E (gE) in Pseudorabies Virus (PRV). In this test, Staphylococcal Protein A (SPA) labeled with colloidal gold was dispensed on a conjugate pad as the detector. Purified PRV-gE and pig-IgG were blotted on a nitrocellulose membrane for the test (T) and control lines (C), respectively. If the tested serum contains IgG antibodies against PRV-gE, the IgG will interact with the colloidal gold-SPA to form a complex (gold-SPA-swine IgG). The complex will react with the immobilized PRV-gE on the T line and the Pig-IgG in the C line of the ICS to form two visible red bands. If there is no IgG antibody against PRV-gE in the sample serum, only the C line will be visible. The ICS was capable of specifically detecting PRV-gE antibody within 5 min, and its stability and reproducibility were quite good after storage at 4°C and use within 4 months. Using an IDEXX Pseudorabies Virus gE Antibody Test Kit (IDEXX PRV gE Ab test) as a reference, the relative specificity and sensitivity of the ICS were determined to be 81.6% and 90.7%, respectively. Furthermore, there was a good agreement between the results obtained by the commercial product and the ICS (kappa=0.7289).

[PD-1 expression in HBcAg-specific CD8+ T cells of adolescents with chronic HBV infection].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1) in the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg)17-28-specific CD8+ T cell subsets of adolescent patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during the immune tolerant phase and the immune clearance phase. METHODS: A total of 105 patients between the ages of 12-28 years old (mean age 17.20+/-6.35) with chronic HBV infection and 15 healthy age-matched individuals were enrolled in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to their current status in immune clearance phase (n = 55) or immune tolerant phase (n = 50), as determined by hepatic biopsy pathology. Flow cytometry was used to detect HLA-A2 type and PD-1 expression on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and HBcAg17-28-specific CD8+ T cells. PD-1 mRNA levels in PBMCs were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Independent samples t-test was used to compare means between the two groups, and one-way ANOVA was used to compare means among multiple groups. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the significance of correlation. RESULTS: The frequency of HBcAg18-27-specific CD8+ T cells was significantly higher in the immune clearance phase group than in the immune tolerant phase group (t = 18.08, P less than 0.01), but the expression of PD-1 on the HBcAg18-27 specific CD8+ T cells was significantly lower in the immune clearance phase group than in the immune tolerant phase group (t = 4.72, P less than 0.01). A negative correlation existed between the frequency of HBcAg18-27-specific CD8+ T cells and PD-1 expression (r = -0.463, P less than 0.01). A positive correlation existed between HBV viral load and PD-1 expression on the HBcAg18-27-specific CD8+ T cells in chronic HBV infection patients (r = 0.882, P less than 0.01), and there was a negative correlation between PD-1 expression levels on HBcAg18-27-specific CD8+ T cells and hepatic tissue inflammation score (r = -0.76, P less than 0.01). PD-1 mRNA in PBMCs was significantly higher in the immune tolerant phase group than in the immune clearance phase group (t = 30.89, P less than 0.01). CONCLUSION: Up-regulated expression of PD-1 is associated with HBV-specific CD8+ T cells and may play a crucial role in inhibiting their function during the immune tolerance phase of chronic HBV infection in adolescents.