Mean platelet volume (MPV): new diagnostic indices for co-morbidity of tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are global health diseases with high morbidity and mortality. Few studies have focused on platelet indices in TB-DM coinfection patients. The objective of this work was to analyze the platelet indices in TB, DM and TB-DM patients to assess the predictive value of the platelet index for the risk of these diseases. METHODS: In total, 246 patients admitted to our hospital were distributed into three groups (113 TB, 59 DM and 74 TB + DM). A total of 133 individuals were also recruited as healthy controls (HC). Platelet indices, namely, platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV), plateletcrit (PCT) and platelet distribution width (PDW), were compared among the four groups, and the relationship with inflammatory markers was explored by using statistical software. RESULTS: Our study discovered that MPV and PCT were significantly downregulated in TB + DM patients (9.95 ± 1.25 fL, 0.20 ± 0.05%, P < 0.0001, P = 0.0121, separately) compared with DM individuals (10.92 ± 1.17 fL, 0.22 ± 0.04%). Moreover, the changes in MPV were significantly higher in TB + DM patients (9.95 ± 1.25 fL, P = 0.0041) than in TB patients (9.42 ± 1.01 fL). No differences were found in PLT and PDW among the four groups (P > 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of MPV in the differential diagnosis of DM patients vs TB + DM patients were 64.9 and 66.1% (P < 0.0001), respectively, and the sensitivity and specificity of MPV between TB patients and TB + DM patients was 60.8 and 66.4%, respectively (P = 0.003). MPV improved the diagnosis sensitivity when it was combined with clinical parameters, such as fasting blood glucose in DM and Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture result in TB (76.3% vs 64.9, 72.6% vs 60.8%, P < 0.0001, P = 0.001, respectively). In addition, the sensitivity and specificity of PCT in the differential diagnosis of DM patients vs TB + DM patients were 69.5 and 59.4%, respectively (P = 0.008). PCT improved the diagnosis sensitivity when combined with fasting blood glucose in DM (72.9% vs 64.9%, P = 0.004). In addition, MPV was linked to CRP (C-reactive protein) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) in the TB + DM patients (r = 0.3203, P = 0.0054, r = 0.2504, P = 0.0307) but PCT was not (r = 0.1905, r = 0.008675, P > 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our research shows that MPV and PCT might be good clinical laboratory markers to distinguish TB + DM patients from TB or DM individuals, thus providing support for earlier clinical diagnosis, prevention, and therapy.

Molecular markers of tuberculosis and their clinical relevance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Since research on disease biomarkers of tuberculosis (TB) and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) provides hope for simple point-of-care testing, we aim to summarize and analyze the evidence for the clinical relevance of IFN-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) and IFN-γ/interleukin 2 (IL-2) as diagnostic biomarkers for TB. METHODS: The search terms tuberculosis, tuberculous pleurisy, pulmonary tuberculosis, latent tuberculosis infection, biomarkers, markers, IFN-γ-inducible protein 10, IP-10, interleukin 2, and IL-2 were used to search the PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, and Weipu databases. The retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to September 2021. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies, and the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.20. RESULTS: A total of 9 articles were included for meta-analysis. The quality assessment showed that the overall quality of the included articles was met the requirements. The results showed that the overall sensitivity and specificity of IP-10 were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.71-0.82) and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.80-0.88), respectively. The overall sensitivity and specificity of IL-2 were 0.82 (95% CI, 0.74-0.89) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.88-0.98), respectively. The areas under the curves (AUCs) of the IP-10 and IL-2 summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were 0.8592 and 0.9666, respectively. DISCUSSION: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that IP-10 and IL-2 as biomarkers have good clinical relevance to TB and can be used for the clinical screening of high-risk TB populations. However, a prospective cohort study across multiple regions using a large sample size should also be conducted.

LncRNA GAS5 modulates the progression of non-small cell lung cancer through repressing miR-221-3p and up-regulating IRF2.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNA growth arrest specific 5 (GAS5) is a regulator in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression. Nonetheless, the mechanism by which GAS5 exerts its biological function in NSCLC cells remains unclear. METHODS: GAS5, miR-221-3p relative expression levels in NSCLC tissues and cells were examined by qPCR. After gain-of-function and loss-of-function models were established, the viability of H1299 and A549 cells were examined by CCK-8 and EdU assays. Cell migration and invasion were examined by the Transwell experiment. The binding sequence of GAS5 for miR-221-3p was confirmed by the dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment. The regulatory function of GAS5 and miR-221-3p on IRF2 was investigated by Western blot. RESULTS: GAS5 expression was down-modulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. GAS5 overexpression restrained the proliferation, migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, while miR-221-3p, which was targeted and negatively modulated by GAS5, worked oppositely. Restoration of miR-221-3p markedly reversed the effects of GAS5 on NSCLC cells. Additionally, GAS5 increased IRF2 expression in NSCLC cells by repressing miR-221-3p. CONCLUSIONS: GAS5 blocks the progression of NSCLC partly via increasing IRF2 expression level via repressing miR-221-3p.