Healthy lifestyles are associated with alleviating the single-nucleotide polymorphism-based genetic risks of ischaemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage and myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Both genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke, including ischaemic stroke (IS) and intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). We explored how and the extent to which a healthy lifestyle, by considering a comprehensive list, could counteract the genetic risk of those diseases, respectively. METHODS: 315 044 participants free of stroke and MI at baseline were identified from the UK Biobank. Genetic risk scores (GRS) for those diseases were constructed separately and categorised as low, intermediate and high by tertile. Lifestyle risk scores (LRS) were constructed separately using smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity, dietary patterns and sleep patterns. Similarly, participants were categorised into low, intermediate and high LRS. The data were analysed using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 12.8 years, 4642, 1046 and 9485 participants developed IS, ICH and MI, respectively. Compared with participants with low levels of GRS and LRS, the HRs of those with high levels of GRS and LRS were 3.45 (95% CI 2.71 to 4.41), 2.32 (95% CI 1.40 to 3.85) and 4.89 (95% CI 4.16 to 5.75) for IS, ICH and MI, respectively. Moreover, among participants with high GRS, the standardised 14-year rates of IS events were 4.40% (95% CI 3.45% to 5.36%) among those with high LRS. In contrast, it is only 1.78% (95% CI 1.63% to 1.94%) among those with low LRS. Similarly for MI, the high LRS group had standardised rates of 8.60% (95% CI 7.38% to 9.81%), compared with 3.34% (95% CI 3.12% to 3.56%) in low LRS. Among the high genetic risk group of ICH, the rate is reduced by about half compared low LRS to high LRS, although the rate was low for both (0.36% (95% CI 0.31% to 0.42%) and 0.71% (95% CI 0.36% to 1.05%), respectively). CONCLUSION: Healthy lifestyles were substantially associated with a reduction in the risk of IS, ICH and MI and attenuated the genetic risk of IS, ICH and MI by at least half, respectively.

Circulating Lipoproteins Mediate the Association Between Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Cognitive Decline: A Community-Based Cohort Study.

Cardiovascular health metrics are now widely recognized as modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia. Metabolic perturbations might play roles in the linkage of cardiovascular diseases and dementia. Circulating metabolites profiling by metabolomics may improve understanding of the potential mechanism by which cardiovascular risk factors contribute to cognitive decline. In a prospective community-based cohort in China (n = 725), 312 serum metabolic phenotypes were quantified, and cardiovascular health score was calculated including smoking, exercise, sleep, diet, body mass index, blood pressure, and blood glucose. Cognitive function assessments were conducted in baseline and follow-up visits to identify longitudinal cognitive decline. A better cardiovascular health was significantly associated with lower risk of concentration decline and orientation decline (hazard ratio (HR): 0.84-0.90; p < 0.05). Apolipoprotein-A1, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, cholesterol ester, and phospholipid concentrations were significantly associated with a lower risk of longitudinal memory and orientation decline (p < 0.05 and adjusted-p < 0.20). Mediation analysis suggested that the negative association between health status and the risk of orientation decline was partly mediated by cholesterol ester and total lipids in HDL-2 and -3 (proportion of mediation: 7.68-8.21%, both p < 0.05). Cardiovascular risk factors were associated with greater risks of cognitive decline, which were found to be mediated by circulating lipoproteins, particularly the medium-size HDL components. These findings underscore the potential of utilizing lipoproteins as targets for early stage dementia screening and intervention. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43657-023-00120-2.

Single extracellular vesicle surface protein-based blood assay identifies potential biomarkers for detection and screening of five cancers.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and EV proteins are promising biomarkers for cancer liquid biopsy. Herein, we designed a case-control study involving 100 controls and 100 patients with esophageal, stomach, colorectal, liver, or lung cancer to identify common and type-specific biomarkers of plasma-derived EV surface proteins for the five cancers. EV surface proteins were profiled using a sequencing-based proximity barcoding assay. In this study, five differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and eight differentially expressed protein combinations (DEPCs) showed promising performance (area under curve, AUC > 0.900) in pan-cancer identification [e.g., TENM2 (AUC = 0.982), CD36 (AUC = 0.974), and CD36-ITGA1 (AUC = 0.971)]. Our classification model could properly discriminate between cancer patients and controls using DEPs (AUC = 0.981) or DEPCs (AUC = 0.965). When distinguishing one cancer from the other four, the accuracy of the classification model using DEPCs (85-92%) was higher than that using DEPs (78-84%). We validated the performance in an additional 14 cancer patients and 14 controls, and achieved an AUC value of 0.786 for DEPs and 0.622 for DEPCs, highlighting the necessity to recruit a larger cohort for further validation. When clustering EVs into subpopulations, we detected cluster-specific proteins highly expressed in immune-related tissues. In the context of colorectal cancer, we identified heterogeneous EV clusters enriched in cancer patients, correlating with tumor initiation and progression. These findings provide epidemiological and molecular evidence for the clinical application of EV proteins in cancer prediction, while also illuminating their functional roles in cancer physiopathology.

Intake of dietary flavonoids in relation to bone loss among U.S. adults: a promising strategy for improving bone health.

Dietary flavonoids have been recommended for improving bone health due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and osteogenic properties. However, the effectiveness of each flavonoid subclass in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis remains controversial. The objective of the current study was to examine the association between the intake of flavonoid subclasses and bone loss in 10 480 U.S. adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We employed a multinomial logistic regression model to calculate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The intake of flavones, isoflavones, and flavanones was beneficially associated with osteoporosis (ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.30-0.64 for flavones; ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 0.53; 95% CI: 0.37-0.77 for isoflavones; ORQ5 vs. Q1 = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.45-0.97 for flavanones). A higher intake of flavones and flavanones was significantly associated with a lower risk of bone loss at the femoral neck rather than the lumbar spine. Notably, stratified analysis showed that genistein had a harmful association with osteopenia in the population with lower serum calcium levels, whereas it had a beneficial association with osteoporosis in the population with higher serum calcium levels. Multiple sensitivity analyses were performed to test the robustness of the results, including subgroup analysis, exclusion of individuals' use of anti-osteoporosis, corticosteroid, and estrogenic medications, adjusting more potential confounders and calculation of the E-value. Overall, incorporating this modifiable diet into an individual's lifestyle could provide potential possibilities to prevent and ameliorate osteoporosis.

Retraction: Down-regulation of MRPS23 inhibits LPS-induced proliferation and invasion via regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in osteosarcoma cells.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1039/C8RA08973F.].

Metagenomic association analysis of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults.

The gut microbiota is reportedly involved in neurodegenerative disorders, and exploration of differences in the gut microbiota in different cognitive status could provide clues for early detection and intervention in cognitive impairment. Here, we used data from the Taizhou Imaging Study (N = 516), a community-based cohort, to compare the overall structure of the gut microbiota at the species level through metagenomic sequencing, and to explore associations with cognition. Interestingly, bacteria capable of producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as Bacteroides massiliensis, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Fusicatenibacter saccharivorans and Eggerthella lenta, that can biotransform polyphenols, were positively associated with better cognitive performance (p < 0.05). Although Diallister invisus and Streptococcus gordonii were not obviously related to cognition, the former was dominant in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), while the later was more abundant in cognitively normal (CN) than MCI groups, and positively associated with cognitive performance (p < 0.05). Functional analysis further supported a potential role of SCFAs and lactic acid in the association between the gut microbiota and cognition. The significant associations persisted after accounting for dietary patterns. Collectively, our results demonstrate an association between the gut microbiota and cognition in the general population, indicating a potential role in cognitive impairment. The findings provide clues for microbiome biomarkers of dementia, and insight for the prevention and treatment of dementia.

Assessing the association between smoking and hypertension: Smoking status, type of tobacco products, and interaction with alcohol consumption.

Background: The association between tobacco use and hypertension risk has been extensively researched but remains controversial, and few existing studies have considered the role of tobacco type and dosage response in this association. In this context, this study aims to provide epidemiological evidence for the possible relationship between tobacco smoking and future hypertension risk, with the tobacco type and consumption dose into consideration. Methods: This study was based on 10-year follow-up data from the Guizhou Population Health Cohort conducted in southwest China. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals [95% confidence intervals (CIs)], and restricted cubic spline analyses were performed to visualize the dose-response association. Results: A total of 5,625 participants (2,563 males and 3,062 females) were included in the final analysis. Heavy smokers of machine-rolled cigarettes had an elevated hypertension risk compared with non-smokers (HR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.05-2.16). The interaction effects of heavy smoking-heavy drinking patterns increased the future hypertension risk, with an adjusted HR of 2.58 (95% CI: 1.06-6.33). Conclusion: This study did not find a significant association between overall tobacco use status and the risk of hypertension. However, heavy machine-rolled cigarette smokers had a statistically significant increased risk of hypertension compared with non-smokers, and a J-shape association has been found between the average daily consumption of machine-rolled cigarettes and the risk of hypertension. Besides, tobacco and alcohol consumption jointly increased the long-term hypertension risk.

The effects of altered DNA damage repair genes on mutational processes and immune cell infiltration in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Defects in DNA damage repair (DDR) pathways lead to genomic instability and oncogenesis. DDR deficiency is prevalent in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), but the effects of DDR alterations on mutational processes and tumor immune microenvironment in ECSS remain unclear. METHODS: Whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing data of 45 ESCC samples from Taizhou, China, were used to identify genomic variations, gene expression modulation in DDR pathways, and the abundance of tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Ninety-six ESCC cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project were used for validation. RESULTS: A total of 57.8% (26/45) of the cases in the Taizhou data and 70.8% (68/96) of the cases in the TCGA data carried at least one functional impact DDR mutation. Mutations in the DDR pathways were associated with a high tumor mutation burden. Several DDR deficiency-related mutational signatures were discovered and were associated with immune cell infiltration, including T cells, monocytes, dendritic cells, and mast cells. The expression levels of two DDR genes, HFM1 and NEIL1, were downregulated in ESCC tumor tissues and had an independent effect on the infiltration of mast cells. In the Taizhou data, increased expression of HFM1 was associated with a poor prognosis, and the increased expression of NEIL1 was associated with a good outcome, but no reproducible correlation was observed in the TCGA data. CONCLUSION: This research demonstrated that DDR alterations could impact mutational processes and immune cell infiltration in ESCC. The suppression of HFM1 and NEIL1 could play a crucial role in ESCC progression and may also serve as prognostic markers.

Genome-wide associated variants of subclinical atherosclerosis among young people with HIV and gene-environment interactions.

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified some variants associated with subclinical atherosclerosis (SCA) in general population but lacking sufficient validation. Besides traditional risk factors, whether and how would genetic variants associate with SCA among people with HIV (PWH) remains to be elucidated. METHOD: A large original GWAS and gene-environment interaction analysis of SCA were conducted among Chinese PWH (n = 2850) and age/sex-matched HIV-negative controls (n = 5410). Subgroup analyses by age and functional annotations of variants were also performed. RESULTS: Different from HIV-negative counterparts, host genome had a greater impact on young PWH rather than the elders: one genome-wide significant variant (rs77741796, P = 2.20 × 10-9) and eight suggestively significant variants (P < 1 × 10-6) were identified to be specifically associated with SCA among PWH younger than 45 years. Seven genomic loci and 15 genes were mapped to play a potential role on SCA among young PWH, which were enriched in the biological processes of atrial cardiac muscle cell membrane repolarization and molecular function of protein kinase A subunit binding. Furthermore, genome-wide interaction analyses revealed significant HIV-gene interactions overall as well as gene-environment interactions with alcohol consumption, tobacco use and obesity among PWH. The identified gene-environment interaction on SCA among PWH might be useful for discovering high-risk individuals for the prevention of SCA, particularly among those with tobacco use and alcohol consumption. CONCLUSION: The present study provides new clues for the genetic contribution of SCA among young PWH and is the starting point of precision intervention targeting HIV-related atherosclerosis.

[Study of characteristics and treatment of "kissing fracture" of humeroradial joint].

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment of "kissing fracture" of humeroradial joint. Methods: A clinical data of 12 patients with "kissing fracture" of the humeroradial joint between January 2016 and June 2021 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 8 males and 4 females with an average age of 41.9 years (range, 15-75 years). The fractures caused by falling in 7 cases, by falling from height in 3 cases, and by sports in 2 cases. The time from injury to admission was 2-72 hours (median, 2 hours). According to Mason's classification, the radial head fractures were rated as type Ⅰ in 2 cases, type Ⅱ in 8 cases, and type Ⅲ in 2 cases. According to Grantham's classification, the humeral capitulum fractures were rated as type Ⅰ in 10 cases and type Ⅱ in 2 cases. Among them, 4 cases of Grantham type Ⅰ humeral capitulum fracture were missed by X-ray film and confirmed by CT and/or MRI. Four cases were complicated with other injuries of elbow joint. The radial head fractures were fixed with screws or mini plate in 11 cases and treated conservatively in 1 case; the humeral capitulum fractures were fixed with screw or plate in 9 cases, removed in 1 case, and treated conservatively in 2 cases. X-ray film was used to evaluate the fracture healing; Mayo Elbow Performance Score (MEPS) was used to evaluate the functional recovery of the affected limb, and the range of motion (ROM) of the elbow joint of the affected limb was detected. Results: All the incisions healed by first intention without early complications. All patients were followed up 10-24 months, with an average of 15.2 months. X-ray films showed that all fractures healed, and the healing time was 2-3 months, with an average of 2.3 months. At last follow-up, the ROM of flexion-extension of the elbow joint was 65°-161°, with an average of 136.9°; the ROM of rotation was 70°-180°, with an average of 149.2°. MEPS ranged from 70 to 100, with an average of 87.4; 8 cases were excellent, 2 cases were good, and 2 cases were fair; the excellent and good rate was 83.3%. Conclusion: The "kissing fracture" of the humeroradial joint is relatively rare, and the humeral capitulum fracture is milder than radial head fracture. X-ray examination alone can easily miss the diagnosis of Grantham type Ⅰ humeral capitulum fracture. The "kissing fracture" of the humeroradial joint is treated according to the principle of intra-articular fracture, and the good effectiveness can obtain.

Serum Metabolomics Profiling Reveals Metabolic Alterations Prior to a Diagnosis with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer among Chinese Community Residents: A Prospective Nested Case-Control Study.

The present high mortality of lung cancer in China stems mainly from the lack of feasible, non-invasive and early disease detection biomarkers. Serum metabolomics profiling to reveal metabolic alterations could expedite the disease detection process and suggest those patients who are harboring disease. Using a nested case-control design, we applied ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based serum metabolomics to reveal the metabolomic alterations and to indicate the presence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using serum samples collected prior to disease diagnoses. The studied serum samples were collected from 41 patients before a NSCLC diagnosis (within 3.0 y) and 38 matched the cancer-free controls from the prospective Shanghai Suburban Adult Cohort. The NSCLC patients markedly presented cellular metabolism alterations in serum samples collected prior to their disease diagnoses compared with the cancer-free controls. In total, we identified 18 significantly expressed metabolites whose relative abundance showed either an upward or a downward trend, with most of them being lipid and lipid-like molecules, organic acids, and nitrogen compounds. Choline metabolism in cancer, sphingolipid, and glycerophospholipid metabolism emerged as the significant metabolic disturbance of NSCLC. The metabolites involved in these biological processes may be the distinctive features associated with NSCLC prior to a diagnosis.

Incidence rate, risk factors and behaviour changes for alcohol drinking: findings from a community-based cohort study in Southwest China.

OBJECTIVE: To describe changes in alcohol drinking behaviour, estimate the incidence rate of alcohol drinking and explore its risk factors in the Chinese community population. DESIGN: A community population prospective cohort study. SETTING: A total of 48 townships of 12 counties or districts in Guizhou province, China. PARTICIPANTS: With the multistage proportional stratified cluster sampling method, a total of 7343 adult residents were enrolled into this study and eligible to be analysed. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The incidence rate and its risk factor (adjusted HR (aHR) and 95% CIs) as well as the prevalence of alcohol drinking. RESULTS: There was a little increase trend in the overall prevalence of alcohol drinking among 7343 subjects over an average of 7.22-year follow-up, and the prevalence in women increased by 2.5% statistically (p=0.001). Among 5005 non-drinkers in 7343 subjects at baseline, 1107 incident drinkers were identified, and the incidence rate of alcohol drinking was estimated at 30.63/1000 person-years with significant sex difference (57.46 vs 17.99 per 1000 person-years for men and women, respectively, p<0.001). The incidence rate decreased gradually with age, peaking in men aged 18-29 years old and women aged 30-39 years old at baseline. After the adjustment for covariates, being male (aHR=3.46, 95% CI: 3.02 to 3.96), being non-Han Chinese (aHR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.44 to 1.88), living in urban areas (aHR=3.50, 95% CI: 3.01 to 4.08), being employed (aHR=1.33, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.52), smoking (aHR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.38) and having no history of chronic diseases (aHR=1.19, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.35) were independent risk factors for incident drinkers. CONCLUSION: The number of women increased in the prevalence of alcohol drinking significantly although there was no significant overall change for the cohort population in Southwest China. Also, there was a high risk of developing alcohol drinking among the study population, especially for those non-drinkers who were younger men, non-Han Chinese, living in urban areas, employed, current smokers or without any chronic diseases. Interventions to prevent and manage alcohol consumption should be designed and implemented in Chinese communities as soon as possible.

The role of metabolites under the influence of genes and lifestyles in bone density changes.

Purpose: Osteoporosis is a complex bone disease influenced by numerous factors. Previous studies have found that some metabolites are related to bone mineral density (BMD). However, the associations between metabolites and BMD under the influence of genes and lifestyle have not been fully investigated. Methods: We analyzed the effect of metabolites on BMD under the synergistic effect of genes and lifestyle, using the data of 797 participants aged 55-65 years from the Taizhou Imaging Study. The cumulative sum method was used to calculate the polygenic risk score of SNPs, and the healthful plant-based diet index was used to summarize food intake. The effect of metabolites on BMD changes under the influence of genes and lifestyle was analyzed through interaction analysis and mediation analysis. Results: Nineteen metabolites were found significantly different in the osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal BMD groups. We found two high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions were positively associated with osteopenia, and six very-low-density lipoprotein subfractions were negatively associated with osteopenia or osteoporosis, after adjusting for lifestyles and genetic factors. Tea drinking habits, alcohol consumption, smoking, and polygenic risk score changed BMD by affecting metabolites. Conclusion: With the increased level of HDL subfractions, the risk of bone loss in the population will increase; the risk of bone loss decreases with the increased level of very-low-density lipoprotein subfractions. Genetic factors and lifestyles can modify the effects of metabolites on BMD. Our results show evidence for the precise prevention of osteoporosis.

Identification of Candidate Therapeutic Genes for More Precise Treatment of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma.

The standard therapy administered to patients with advanced esophageal cancer remains uniform, despite its two main histological subtypes, namely esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC), are being increasingly considered to be different. The identification of potential drug target genes between SCC and AC is crucial for more effective treatment of these diseases, given the high toxicity of chemotherapy and resistance to administered medications. Herein we attempted to identify and rank differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in SCC vs. AC using ensemble feature selection methods. RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Fudan-Taizhou Institute of Health Sciences (China). Six feature filters algorithms were used to identify DEGs. We built robust predictive models for histological subtypes with the random forest (RF) classification algorithm. Pathway analysis also be performed to investigate the functional role of genes. 294 informative DEGs (87 of them are newly discovered) have been identified. The areas under receiver operator curve (AUC) were higher than 99.5% for all feature selection (FS) methods. Nine genes (i.e., ERBB3, ATP7B, ABCC3, GALNT14, CLDN18, GUCY2C, FGFR4, KCNQ5, and CACNA1B) may play a key role in the development of more directed anticancer therapy for SCC and AC patients. The first four of them are drug targets for chemotherapy and immunotherapy of esophageal cancer and involved in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics pathways. Research identified novel DEGs in SCC and AC, and detected four potential drug targeted genes (ERBB3, ATP7B, ABCC3, and GALNT14) and five drug-related genes.

Association between Drinking Patterns and Incident Hypertension in Southwest China.

Based on a prospective cohort study of adults from southwest China with heterogeneity in their demographical characteristics and lifestyles, we aimed to explore the association between drinking patterns and incident hypertension under the interaction of these confounding factors. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Subgroup analysis was performed according to sex, ethnicity, area, occupation, smoking, and exercise to compare the differences in the association between drinking patterns and the incidence of hypertension. Blood pressure was higher in participants with a high drinking frequency than those with a low drinking frequency (p < 0.001). We found that total drinking frequency, liquor drinking frequency, rice wine drinking frequency, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with an increased risk of hypertension. Compared with the non-drinking group, a heavy drinking pattern was positively correlated with hypertension. Drinking can increase the risk of hypertension, especially heavy drinking patterns, with a high frequency of alcohol intake and high alcohol consumption. From the analysis results of the longitudinal data, drinking alcohol is still an important risk factor for hypertension among Chinese subjects, especially for men, the rural population, the employed, the Han nationality, smokers, and certain exercise populations.

Global trend of aetiology-based primary liver cancer incidence from 1990 to 2030: a modelling study.

BACKGROUND: Predictions of primary liver cancer (PLC) incidence rates and case numbers are critical to understand and plan for PLC disease burden. METHODS: Data on PLC incidence rates and case numbers from 1990 to 2017 were retrieved from the Global Burden of Disease database. The estimated average percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to quantify the trends of PLC age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs). Bayesian age-period-cohort models were constructed to project PLC incidence rates and case numbers through 2030. RESULTS: Globally, the PLC case number doubled from 472 300 in 1990 to 953 100 in 2017. The case number will further increase to 1 571 200 in 2030, and the ASR will increase from 11.80 per 100 000 in 2018 to 14.08 per 100 000 in 2030. The most pronounced increases are observed in people afflicted by non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and in older people. The trends of PLC incidence rates between 1990 and 2030 are heterogeneous among countries and can be summarized as five scenarios: (i) 46 countries that have and will continue to experience a persistent increase (e.g. Australia); (ii) 21 countries that experienced an initial decrease (or remained stable) but are predicted to increase (e.g. China); (iii) 7 countries that experienced an initial increase but are predicted to remain stable (e.g. USA); (iv) 29 countries that experienced an initial increase but are predicted to decrease (e.g. Egypt); and (v) 82 countries that have and will continue to experience a persistent decrease (e.g. Japan). CONCLUSION: PLC incidence rates and case numbers are anticipated to increase at the global level through 2030. The increases in people afflicted by NASH and among older people suggest a dearth of attention for these populations in current prevention strategies and highlight their priority in future schedules for global control of PLC.

[Effectiveness of percutaneous compression plate fixation for femoral neck fractures].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of percutaneous compression plate (PCCP) fixation for femoral neck fracture. METHODS: A clinical data of 100 patients with femoral neck fractures who were treated with internal fixation were analyzed retrospectively. The fractures were fixed with the cannulated screws (CS) in 55 patients (CS group) and with the PCCP in 45 patients (PCCP group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, the cause of injury, the fracture type, complications, and disease duration between the two groups ( P>0.05). The quality of fracture reduction, bone resorption, screw slipping, femoral neck shortening, complications (nonunion, failure of fixation, and osteonecrosis of femoral head), and functional recovery of hip (Harris score) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: All incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 24-56 months, with an average of 30.7 months. The quality of fracture reduction was excellent in 26 cases, good in 18 cases, fair in 9 cases, and poor in 2 cases in CS group and excellent in 21 cases, good in 17 cases, fair in 4 cases, and poor in 3 cases in PCCP group, showing no significant difference between the two groups ( Z=-0.283， P=0.773). The incidence of nonunion in PCCP group was significantly lower than that in CS group ( P=0.046), and the fracture healing time in PCCP group was shorter than that in CS group ( t=2.155, P=0.034). There was no significant difference in the incidences of bone resorption, screw slipping, femoral neck shortening, failure of fixation, and osteonecrosis of femoral head between the two groups ( P>0.05). The overall complication rates were 27.27% (15/55) in CS group and 8.89% (4/45) in PCCP group, showing significant difference ( χ 2=5.435, P=0.020). The Harris score in PCCP group at 6 months after operation was significantly higher than that in CS group ( t=-2.073, P=0.041). However, there was no significant difference in the Harris score at 12, 18, and 24 months after operation between the two groups ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Stable sliding compression of PCCP is benefit for the femoral neck fracture healing, especially shortening union.

Down-regulation of MRPS23 inhibits LPS-induced proliferation and invasion via regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in osteosarcoma cells.

Mitochondrial ribosomal protein S23 (MRPS23), encoded by a nuclear gene, is a participant in the translation of mitochondrial proteins. Recently, MRPS23 has been reported to be overexpressed in many types of cancers and have a close association with cancer progression. However, the specific roles of MRPS23 in osteosarcoma (OS) remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern and biological functions of MRPS23 in OS cells. Our results demonstrated that MRPS23 was up-regulated in OS tissues and cell lines. Down-regulation of MRPS23 significantly inhibited OS cell proliferation and invasion induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro. Furthermore, the in vivo experiments showed that MRPS23 down-regulation markedly suppressed OS cell growth and metastasis induced by LPS. Mechanistically, down-regulation of MRPS23 inhibited the activity of NF-κB signaling pathway in OS cells. In conclusion, these findings indicated that MRPS23 may be a potential therapeutic target for OS treatment.

Prognostic role of CD44 expression in osteosarcoma: evidence from six studies.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies examining the relationship between CD44 expression and prognostic impact in patients with osteosarcoma have yielded inconclusive results. The aim of this meta-analysis was carried out to investigate the relationship between CD44 expression and the survival in patients with osteosarcoma. METHODS: We therefore conducted a meta-analysis to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the prognostic role of CD44 expression on the overall survival rate and metastasis, which compared the positive and negative expression of CD44 in patients of the available studies. RESULTS: A detailed search was made in MEDLINE and EMBASE for relevant original articles published in English. Finally, a total of six studies with 329 osteosarcoma patients were involved to estimate the relationship between CD44 expression and metastasis of tumor and overall survival. Positive expressions of CD44 did not predict neoplasm metastasis (RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.00-1.84, P = 0.50), and the results indicated that higher expression of CD44 could not predict poorer survival in osteosarcoma with the pooled HR of 0.55 (95% CI: 0.27-1.13, P = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this present meta-analysis suggest that CD44 expression is not associated with overall survival rate and metastasis in osteosarcoma. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1373995521295618.