Analysis of carotid plaque risk factors in a population at high risk of stroke in Yubei District, Chongqing, China.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a scientific foundation for focused stroke prevention and treatment efforts by comprehending the risk variables connected to carotid plaque formation in adults over 40 who are at high risk of stroke in Yubei District, Chongqing, China. METHODS: By comparing the differences in carotid plaque formation between people of different ages, smoking, blood pressure levels, low-density lipoprotein levels, and glycosylated hemoglobin levels, questionnaires and physical exams were performed on a random sample of permanent residents aged 40 years in three communities in Yubei District, Chongqing, China. The goal was to investigate the risk factors associated with carotid plaque formation in the population. RESULTS: The incidence of carotid plaque gradually increased in the study population as age, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein, and glycosylated hemoglobin levels increased. The difference in carotid plaque formation between people of different ages, smoking, blood pressure levels, low-density lipoprotein levels, and glycosylated hemoglobin levels was statistically significant (p<0.05). The findings of the multifactorial logistic regression analysis revealed that there was a tendency for the risk of developing carotid plaque to rise with age; the risk of developing carotid plaque in hypertensive patients was (OR=1.41,95% CI: 1.03-1.93); the population of smokers was (OR=2.01,95%CI:1.33-3.05); the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol borderline increased group was (OR=1.94,95%CI:1.03-3.66); the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol elevated group was (OR=2.71,95%CI: 1.26-5.84); glycosylated hemoglobin elevated group was (OR=1.40,95%CI: 1.01-1.94) (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Age, smoking, blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein, and glycosylated hemoglobin are all associated with carotid plaque formation in those over 40 who are at high risk of stroke. As a result, health education for residents needs to be strengthened to raise knowledge of carotid plaque prevention.

Revealing oxidative stress-related genes in osteoporosis and advanced structural biological study for novel natural material discovery regarding MAPKAPK2.

Objectives: This study aimed to find novel oxidative stress (OS)-related biomarkers of osteoporosis (OP), together with targeting the macromolecule Mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAPK2) protein to further discover potential novel materials based on an advanced structural biology approach. Methods: Gene expression profiles of GSE35958 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, which were included for weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and differential analysis to identify the most correlated module, to identify OS-related hub genes in the progression of OP. Functional annotations were also analyzed on the interested module to get a comprehensive understanding of these genes. Then, a series of advanced structural biology methods, including high-throughput screening, pharmacological characteristic prediction, precise molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, etc., was implemented to discover novel natural inhibitor materials against the MAPKAPK2 protein. Results: The brown module containing 720 genes was identified as the interested module, and a group set of genes was determined as the hub OS-related genes, including PPP1R15A, CYB5R3, BCL2L1, ABCD1, MAPKAPK2, HSP90AB1, CSF1, RELA, P4HB, AKT1, HSP90B1, and CTNNB1. Functional analysis demonstrated that these genes were primarily enriched in response to chemical stress and several OS-related functions. Then, Novel Materials Discovery demonstrated that two compounds, ZINC000014951634 and ZINC000040976869, were found binding to MAPKAPK2 with a favorable interaction energy together with a high binding affinity, relatively low hepatoxicity and carcinogenicity, high aqueous solubility and intestinal absorption levels, etc., indicating that the two compounds were ideal potential inhibitor materials targeting MAPKAPK2. Conclusion: This study found a group set of OS-related biomarkers of OP, providing further insights for OS functions in the development of OP. This study then focused on one of the macromolecules, MAPKAPK2, to further discover potential novel materials, which was of great significance in guiding the screening of MAPKAPK2 potential materials.