A complex case study: coexistence of multi-drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis, HBV-related liver failure, and disseminated cryptococcal infection in an AIDS patient.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can cause liver failure, while individuals with Acquired Immunodeficiency Virus Disease (AIDS) are highly susceptible to various opportunistic infections, which can occur concurrently. The treatment process is further complicated by the potential occurrence of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), which presents significant challenges and contributes to elevated mortality rates. CASE PRESENTATION: The 50-year-old male with a history of chronic hepatitis B and untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection presented to the hospital with a mild cough and expectoration, revealing multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis (MDR-PTB), which was confirmed by XpertMTB/RIF PCR testing and tuberculosis culture of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). The patient was treated with a regimen consisting of linezolid, moxifloxacin, cycloserine, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol for tuberculosis, as well as a combination of bictegravir/tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (BIC/TAF/FTC) for HBV and HIV viral suppression. After three months of treatment, the patient discontinued all medications, leading to hepatitis B virus reactivation and subsequent liver failure. During the subsequent treatment for AIDS, HBV, and drug-resistant tuberculosis, the patient developed disseminated cryptococcal disease. The patient's condition worsened during treatment with liposomal amphotericin B and fluconazole, which was ultimately attributed to IRIS. Fortunately, the patient achieved successful recovery after appropriate management. CONCLUSION: Enhancing medical compliance is crucial for AIDS patients, particularly those co-infected with HBV, to prevent HBV reactivation and subsequent liver failure. Furthermore, conducting a comprehensive assessment of potential infections in patients before resuming antiviral therapy is essential to prevent the occurrence of IRIS. Early intervention plays a pivotal role in improving survival rates.

Cost-effectiveness of mepolizumab for severe eosinophilic asthma in China.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the economic value of mepolizumab as an add-on therapy to the standard of care (SoC) for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma in China. METHODS: A Markov model with three health conditions was constructed to calculate the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in mepolizumab with SoC and SoC only groups from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system throughout an entire lifespan. The model was populated with local costs, while efficacy parameters were obtained from the global Phase III MENSA trial and mortality was derived from two surveys. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Additional scenario analysis was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness impact of changes in the price of mepolizumab. RESULTS: Over the lifetime treatment horizon, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of mepolizumab plus SoC compared to SoC alone was $170 648.73 per QALY. Sensitivity analyses focused on these results. Scenario analysis showed that mepolizumab would require a price reduction of at least 82% to reach the current willingness-to-pay (WTP=$38 223.34/QALY) threshold. CONCLUSION: Mepolizumab is not a cost-effective healthcare resource in China at its current pricing.

Role and therapeutic potential of gelsolin in atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is the major pathophysiological basis of a variety of cardiovascular diseases and has been recognized as a lipid-driven chronic inflammatory disease. Gelsolin (GSN) is a member of the GSN family. The main function of GSN is to cut and seal actin filaments to regulate the cytoskeleton and participate in a variety of biological functions, such as cell movement, morphological changes, metabolism, apoptosis and phagocytosis. Recently, more and more evidences have demonstrated that GSN is Closely related to atherosclerosis, involving lipid metabolism, inflammation, cell proliferation, migration and thrombosis. This article reviews the role of GSN in atherosclerosis from inflammation, apoptosis, angiogenesis and thrombosis.

Asprosin inhibits macrophage lipid accumulation and reduces atherosclerotic burden by up-regulating ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression via the p38/Elk-1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Asprosin, a newly discovered adipokine, is a C-terminal cleavage product of profibrillin. Asprosin has been reported to participate in lipid metabolism and cardiovascular disease, but its role in atherogenesis remains elusive. METHODS: Asprosin was overexpressed in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells and apoE-/- mice using the lentiviral vector. The expression of relevant molecules was determined by qRT-PCR and/or western blot. The intracellular lipid accumulation was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography and Oil red O staining. HE and Oil red O staining was employed to assess plaque burden in vivo. Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) efficiency was measured using [3H]-labeled cholesterol. RESULTS: Exposure of THP-1 macrophages to oxidized low-density lipoprotein down-regulated asprosin expression. Lentivirus-mediated overexpression of asprosin promoted cholesterol efflux and inhibited lipid accumulation in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells. Mechanistic analysis revealed that asprosin overexpression activated p38 and stimulated the phosphorylation of ETS-like transcription factor (Elk-1) at Ser383, leading to Elk-1 nuclear translocation and the transcriptional activation of ATP binding cassette transporters A1 (ABCA1) and ABCG1. Injection of lentiviral vector expressing asprosin diminished atherosclerotic lesion area, increased plaque stability, improved plasma lipid profiles and facilitated RCT in apoE-/- mice. Asprosin overexpression also increased the phosphorylation of p38 and Elk-1 as well as up-regulated the expression of ABCA1 and ABCG1 in the aortas. CONCLUSION: Asprosin inhibits lipid accumulation in macrophages and decreases atherosclerotic burden in apoE-/- mice by up-regulating ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression via activation of the p38/Elk-1 signaling pathway.

Mechanistic insights into the amelioration effects of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by baicalein: An integrated systems pharmacology study and experimental validation.

BACKGROUND: Acute lung injury is an acute progressive respiratory failure caused by several of non-cardiogenic factors which involves in excessive amplification or uncontrolled inflammatory response. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we investigated the protective effect of baicalein against acute lung injury induced by LPS and explored the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Forty-eight SPF male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group, model group, dexamethasone group and baicalein low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose groups. After 5 days of adaptive feeding, the mice were intraperitoneally injected with LPS and dissected after 12 h. Hematoxylin-eosin staining, ELISA assay, immunofluorescence assay and Western-Blot were applied to appraise microstructural changes and protein expressions of lung tissues. Systems pharmacology study was used to evaluate the protection of baicalein on acute lung injury. FINDINGS: The results showed that baicalein administration could significantly inhibit LPS-induced lung morphological changes, inhibit inflammatory response and pyroptosis. A total of forty-three potential targets of baicalein and acute lung injury were obtained. And PI3K-Akt, TNF and NF-κB were mainly signaling pathways. It is worth mentioning that this experiment also confirmed that NLRP3, caspase-1 and other inflammasome are involved in pyroptosis. CONCLUSION: Baicalein has protected against LPS-induced lung tissues injury via inhibiting inflammatory response and pyroptosis.

Astragalin Retards Atherosclerosis by Promoting Cholesterol Efflux and Inhibiting the Inflammatory Response via Upregulating ABCA1 and ABCG1 Expression in Macrophages.

ABSTRACT: Lipid metabolism disorder and inflammatory response are considered to be the major causes of atherosclerogenesis. Astragalin, the most important functional component of flavonoid obtained from persimmon leaves, has the hypolipidemic effects. However, it is unknown, how astragalin protects against atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to observe the effects of astragalin on cholesterol efflux and inflammatory response and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that astragalin upregulated the expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters A1 and G1 (ABCA1 and ABCG1), promoted cholesterol efflux, and suppressed foam cell formation. Inhibition of the PPARγ/LXRα pathway abrogated the promotive effects of astragalin on both transporter expression and cholesterol efflux. In addition, treatment of astragalin markedly decreased the secretion of inflammatory factors, including interleukin 6, monocyte chemotactic protein 1, tumor necrosis factor α, and interleukin 1ß. Mechanistically, astragalin upregulated ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression, which in turn reduced TLR4 surface levels and inhibited NF-κB nuclear translocation. Consistently, astragalin reduced atherosclerotic plaque area in apoE-/- mice. Taken together, these findings suggest that astragalin protects against atherosclerosis by promoting ABCA1- and ABCG1-mediated cholesterol efflux and inhibiting proinflammatory mediator release.

Antibacterial Performance of a Streptomyces spectabilis Strain Producing Metacycloprodigiosin.

After separation of bacterial colonies on solid plates, purification, and screening through the agar cup-plate method, an antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolate was obtained, and named strain L20190601, the 16S rRNA gene sequence data of strain L20190601 to GenBank, NCBI have provided GenBank accession number MW931615. 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that this isolate was highly similar to a number of Streptomyces species. Among them, the homology with S. spectabilis was the highest, reaching 99.9, together with curved hyphal morphology and biochemical tests, allowed us to identify strain L20190601 as S. spectabilis. The red pigment produced by S. spectabilis strain L20190601 was structurally identified. An acid-base color reaction assay showed that when this pigment was dissolved in a solution at pH 3.0 and 9.0, the color of the solution was red and yellow, respectively. In addition, the analysis of absorption spectra revealed that at pH 8.0 and 3.0, the maximum absorption peaks were at 466 and 531 nm, respectively. These results are consistent with the spectral absorption characteristics of metacycloprodigiosin reported in the literature. Moreover, the retention time of purified pigments was identical to those of standard metacycloprodigiosin solutions. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the molecular weight of the red compound was 392.2 [M + H]+. Finally, metacycloprodigiosin was found to be effective against eight clinically common pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus typhi, Candida albicans, and Trichophyton rubrum. In summary, metacycloprodigiosin exhibited strong antibacterial activity and a broad antibacterial spectrum, and thus is a promising compound for the development of a new type of antibacterial drug.

The Long Noncoding RNA Metastasis-Associated Lung Adenocarcinoma Transcript-1 Regulates CCDC80 Expression by Targeting miR-141-3p/miR-200a-3p in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells.

OBJECTIVE: Our previous study showed that Coiled-Coil Domain Containing 80 (CCDC80) accelerates the development of atherosclerosis by decreasing lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression and activity in apoE knockout mice. However, the regulatory mechanism for CCDC80 expression is unclear. This study was designed to evaluate whether noncoding RNAs involved the regulation of CCDC80 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter gene results showed that miR-141-3p/200a-3p bound to the 3'UTR of CCDC80. Furthermore, miR-141-3p/200a-3p mimics decreased the expression of CCDC80 but increased LPL expression. Opposite results were observed with miR-141-3p/200a-3p inhibitors. We also found that lncRNA metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1) interacted with the sequences of miR-141-3p/200a-3p and decreased their expression. RT-qPCR and western blotting results showed that MALAT1 overexpression increased CCDC80 expression and decreased LPL expression, while MALAT1 knockdown displayed an opposite phenotype. The effects of both MALAT1 overexpression and knockdown were blocked by miR-141-3p/200a-3p mimics or inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, we demonstrated that lncRNA MALAT1 regulates CCDC80 and LPL expression through miR-141-3p/200a-3p.

Synthesis and Evaluation of the Antitumor Activity of Novel 1-(4-Substituted phenyl)-2-ethyl Imidazole Apoptosis Inducers In Vitro.

Novel imidazole derivatives were designed, prepared, and evaluated in vitro for antitumor activity. The majority of the tested derivatives showed improved antiproliferative activity compared to the positive control drugs 5-FU and MTX. Among them, compound 4f exhibited outstanding antiproliferative activity against three cancer cell lines and was considerably more potent than both 5-FU and MTX. In particular, the selectivity index indicated that the tolerance of normal L-02 cells to 4f was 23-46-fold higher than that of tumor cells. This selectivity was significantly higher than that exhibited by the positive control drugs. Furthermore, compound 4f induced cell apoptosis by increasing the protein expression levels of Bax and decreasing those of Bcl-2 in a time-dependent manner. Therefore, 4f could be a potential candidate for the development of a novel antitumor agent.

[Genome-wide analysis of LBD(lateral organ boundaries domain) gene family in Cannabis sativa of traditional Chinese medicine hemp seed].

LBD(lateral organ boundaries)transcription factors play an important role in the regulation of plant growth, development and secondary metabolism. In order to explore the function of LBD genes in cannabis, the Cannabis sativa genome and transcriptome were used to identify the C. sativa LBD gene family, and analyzed their expression patterns. Our results showed that the cannabis LBD contains 32 members, which were divided into two major categories, seven sub-families. Class Ⅰ was divided into 5 sub-families, named Class Ⅰ_a to Class Ⅰ_e, while Class Ⅱ was divided into 2 sub-families, including Class Ⅱ_a and Class Ⅱ_b. Analysis showed that the number of amino acids encoded LBDs was between 172 and 356, and the isoelectric point was between 4.92 and 9.43. The mole-cular weight of LBD was between 18 862.92 Da and 40 081.33 Da, and most members are located in the nucleus. Chromosome positioning of LBD showed that 32 members were unevenly distributed on 10 chromosomes of C. sativa LBD transcription factor domain, gene structure and motifs are relatively conservative, and the characteristics of different class members are similar. The upstream promoter region of the gene contains a variety of cis-acting elements related to plant hormones and environmental factors, C. sativa LBD genes have different expression patterns in the stems, leaves, and flowers of ZYS varieties(low tetrahydrocannabinol, high cannabidiol). The members of the LBD gene family are mainly expressed in the flowers and stems of ZYS varieties, while members expressed in the leaves very few; Class Ⅱ members CsLBD21 and CsLBD23 are expressed in flowers and stems, and CsLBD8 and CsLBD18 are expressed in flowers, stems and leaves. These genes may participate in the growth and development of cannabis and affect the biosynthesis of cannabinoids. This study laid the foundation for the subsequently functional research of the cannabis LBD gene family.

CXCL12 promotes atherosclerosis by downregulating ABCA1 expression via the CXCR4/GSK3ß/ß-cateninT120/TCF21 pathway.

CXC chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) is a member of the CXC chemokine family and mainly acts on cell chemotaxis. CXCL12 also elicits a proatherogenic role, but the molecular mechanisms have not been fully defined yet. We aimed to reveal if and how CXCL12 promoted atherosclerosis via regulating lipid metabolism. In vitro, our data showed that CXCL12 could reduce ABCA1 expression, and it mediated cholesterol efflux from THP-1-derived macrophages to apoA-I. Data from the luciferase reporter gene and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that transcription factor 21 (TCF21) stimulated the transcription of ABCA1 via binding to its promoter region, which was repressed by CXCL12. We found that CXCL12 increased the levels of phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK3ß) and the phosphorylation of ß-catenin at the Thr120 position. Inactivation of GSK3ß or ß-catenin increased the expression of TCF21 and ABCA1. Further, knockdown or inhibition of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) blocked the effects of CXCL12 on TCF21 and ABCA1 expression and the phosphorylation of GSK3ß and ß-catenin. In vivo, the overexpression of CXCL12 in Apoe-/- mice via lentivirus enlarged the atherosclerotic lesion area and increased macrophage infiltration in atherosclerotic plaques. We further found that the overexpression of CXCL12 reduced the efficiency of reverse cholesterol transport and plasma HDL-C levels, decreased ABCA1 expression in the aorta and mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPMs), and suppressed cholesterol efflux from MPMs to apoA-I in Apoe-/- mice. Collectively, these findings suggest that CXCL12 interacts with CXCR4 and then activates the GSK-3ß/ß-cateninT120/TCF21 signaling pathway to inhibit ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux from macrophages and aggravate atherosclerosis. Targeting CXCL12 may be a novel and promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.

IL-8 negatively regulates ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux via upregulating miR-183 in THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies suggest that IL-8 has an important role in the regulation of cholesterol efflux, but whether miRNAs are involved in this process is still unknown. The purpose of this study is to explore whether IL-8 promotes cholesterol accumulation by enhancing miR-183 expression in macrophages and its underlying mechanism. METHODS AND RESULTS: Treatment of THP-1 macrophage-derived foam cells with IL-8 decreased ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux. Using bioinformatics analyses and dual-luciferase reporter assays, we found that miR-183 was highly conserved during evolution and directly inhibited ABCA1 protein and mRNA expression by targeting ABCA1 3'UTR. MiR-183 directly regulated endogenous ABCA1 expression levels. Furthermore, IL-8 enhanced the expression of miR-183 and decrease ABCA1 expression. Cholesterol transport assays confirmed that IL-8 dramatically inhibited apolipoprotein AI-mediated ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux by increasing miR-183 expression. In contrast, treatment with anti-IL-8 antibody reversed these effects. CONCLUSION: IL-8 enhances the expression of miR-183, which then inhibits ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux. Our studies suggest that the IL-8-miR-183-ABCA1 axis may play an intermediary role in the development of atherosclerosis.

Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A Accelerates Atherosclerosis by Regulating Reverse Cholesterol Transport and Inflammation.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have suggested that pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This study aim is to investigate the role and mechanisms of PAPP-A in reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and inflammation during the development of atherosclerosis. Methods and Results: PAPP-A was silenced in apolipoprotein E (apoE-/-) mice with administration of PAPP-A shRNA. Oil Red O staining of the whole aorta root revealed that PAPP-A knockdown reduced lipid accumulation in aortas. Oil Red O, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson staining of aortic sinus further showed that PAPP-A knockdown alleviated the formation of atherosclerotic lesions. It was found that PAPP-A knockdown reduced the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels and repressed the PI3K/Akt pathway in both aorta and peritoneal macrophages. The expression levels of LXRα, ABCA1, ABCG1, and SR-B1 were increased in the aorta and peritoneal macrophages from apoE-/-mice administered with PAPP-A shRNA. Furthermore, PAPP-A knockdown promoted RCT from macrophages to plasma, the liver, and feces in apoE-/-mice. In addition, PAPP-A knockdown elevated the expression and secretion of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1ß through the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway. CONCLUSIONS: The present study results suggest that PAPP-A promotes the development of atherosclerosis in apoE-/-mice through reducing RCT capacity and activating an inflammatory response.

Synthesis, activity evaluation, and pro-apoptotic properties of novel 1,2,4-triazol-3-amine derivatives as potent anti-lung cancer agents.

In this study, a series of 4,5-bis(substituted phenyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-amine compounds was designed, synthesised, and evaluated to determine their potential as anti-lung cancer agents. According to the results of screening of lung cancer cell lines A549, NCI-H460, and NCI-H23 in vitro, most of the synthesised compounds have potent cytotoxic activities with IC50 values ranging from 1.02 to 48.01 µM. Particularly, compound 4,5-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-amine (BCTA) was the most potent anti-cancer agent, with IC50 values of 1.09, 2.01, and 3.28 µM against A549, NCI-H460, and NCI-H23 cells, respectively, meaning many-fold stronger anti-lung cancer activity than that of the chemotherapeutic agent 5-fluorouracil. We also explored the effects of BCTA on apoptosis in lung cancer cells by flow cytometry and western blotting. Our results indicated that BCTA induced apoptosis by upregulating proteins BAX, caspase 3, and PARP. Thus, the potential application of compound BCTA as a drug should be further examined.

Heat shock protein 70 accelerates atherosclerosis by downregulating the expression of ABCA1 and ABCG1 through the JNK/Elk-1 pathway.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Recent studies have suggested that heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) may play critical roles in cardiovascular disease. However, the effects of HSP70 on the development of atherosclerosis in apoE-/- mice remain largely unknown. This study was to investigate the role and potential mechanism of HSP70 in atherosclerosis. METHODS: HSP70 was overexpressed in apoE-/- mice and THP-1-derived macrophages with lentiviral vectors. Oil Red O, hematoxylin-eosin, and Masson staining were performed to evaluate atherosclerotic plaque in apoE-/- mice fed the Western type diet. Moreover, immunostaining was employed to detect the expression of relative proteins in aortic sinus. Reporter gene and chromatin immunoprecipitation were performed to analyze the effect of Elk-1 on the promoter activity of ABCA1 and ABCG1; [3H] labeled cholesterol was used to assess the capacity of cholesterol efflux and reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). RESULTS: Our results showed that HSP70 increased lipid accumulation in arteries and promoted the formation of atherosclerotic lesion. The capacity of cholesterol efflux was reduced in peritoneal macrophages isolated from HSP70-overexpressed apoE-/- mice. The levels of ABCA1 and ABCG1 expression were also reduced in the peritoneal macrophages and the aorta from apoE-/- mice in response to HSP70. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and ETS transcription factor (Elk-1) played a critical role in HSP70-induced downregulation ABCA1 and ABCG1. Further, HSP70 reduced RCT from macrophages to plasma, liver, and feces in apoE-/- mice. CONCLUSIONS: HSP70 promotes the progression of atherosclerosis in apoE-/- mice by suppressing the expression of ABCA1 and ABCG1 through the JNK/Elk-1 pathway.

Apolipoprotein A-1 Binding Protein Inhibits Inflammatory Signaling Pathways by Binding to Apolipoprotein A-1 in THP-1 Macrophages.

BACKGROUND: It has previously been demonstrated that apolipoprotein A-1 (apoA-1) binding protein (AIBP) promotes apoA-1 binding to ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and prevents ABCA1 protein degradation so as to inhibit foam cell formation. Because apoA-1 inhibits inflammatory signaling pathways, whether AIBP has an inhibitory effect on inflammatory signaling pathways in THP-1-derived macrophages is investigated.Methods and Results:Analysis of inflammation-related gene expression indicated that AIBP decreased lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated macrophage inflammation. AIBP significantly prevented NF-κB nuclear translocation. Further, AIBP prevented the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), including p38 MAPK, extracellular-signal regulated kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. AIBP decreased MyD88 expression at both mRNA and protein levels, but did not have any effect on TLR4 expression. Moreover, treatment with both AIBP and apoA-1 decreased the abundance of TLR4 in the lipid raft fraction. AIBP lacking 115-123 amino acids (∆115-123), however, did not have such effects as described for intact AIBP. In addition, knockdown of ABCA1 inhibited the effects of AIBP on inflammatory factor secretion. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that AIBP inhibits inflammatory signaling pathways through binding to apoA-1 and stabilizing ABCA1, and subsequent alteration of lipid rafts and TLR4 in the cell membrane.

MicroRNA-377 Inhibits Atherosclerosis by Regulating Triglyceride Metabolism Through the DNA Methyltransferase 1 in Apolipoprotein E-Knockout Mice.

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) plays an important role in triglyceride metabolism. It is translocated across endothelial cells to reach the luminal surface of capillaries by glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored high-density lipoprotein binding protein 1 (GPIHBP1), where it hydrolyzes triglycerides in lipoproteins. MicroRNA 377 (miR-377) is highly associated with lipid levels. However, how miR-377 regulates triglyceride metabolism and whether it is involved in the development of atherosclerosis remain largely unexplored. Methods and Results: The clinical examination displayed that miR-377 expression was markedly lower in plasma from patients with hypertriglyceridemia compared with non-hypertriglyceridemic subjects. Bioinformatics analyses and a luciferase reporter assay showed that DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) was a target gene of miR-377. Moreover, miR-377 increased LPL binding to GPIHBP1 by directly targeting DNMT1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-knockout (KO) mice aorta endothelial cells (MAECs). In vivo, hematoxylin-eosin (H&E), Oil Red O and Masson's trichrome staining showed that ApoE-KO mice treated with miR-377 developed less atherosclerotic plaques, accompanied by reduced plasma triglyceride levels. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that miR-377 upregulates GPIHBP1 expression, increases the LPL binding to GPIHBP1, and reduces plasma triglyceride levels, likely through targeting DNMT1, inhibiting atherosclerosis in ApoE-KO mice.

Conservative and surgical treatment of pediatric asymptomatic lumbosacral lipoma: a meta-analysis.

The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of surgical and conservative treatments of pediatric asymptomatic lumbosacral lipomas, and to address whether the patients can benefit from prophylactic surgeries. The literature reports of surgical and conservative treatments of child asymptomatic lumbosacral lipomas were reviewed and collected, and a meta-analysis of the reports regarding the incidence of sphincter and lower limb dysfunctions was performed. A total of five literatures were collected, containing a total of 403 patients, among which 124 patients received conservative treatments with 32 (25.81%) cases developing neurological dysfunctions during follow-up, and 279 received prophylactic surgical treatments with 30 (10.75%) patients developing neurological dysfunctions in follow-up, the difference being statistically significant (P ≤ 0.05). For pediatric asymptomatic lumbosacral lipomas of the three major subtypes, the limited source of literature so far suggests that prophylactic surgery is superior to conservative strategy in preventing the patients from neurological deterioration. Larger patient cohorts, randomized studies, and longer length of follow-ups are needed for further corroboration.

MicroRNA-524-5p Functions as a Tumor Suppressor in a Human Pituitary Tumor-Derived Cell Line.

Clinical nonfunctional pituitary adenomas (NFAs) account for about 40% of pituitary adenomas with almost no clinically relevant hormonal symptoms. Increasing evidence shows that many microRNAs are involved in the development and progression of pituitary adenomas. MicroRNA-524-5p (miR-524-5p) has been reported to cause characteristic alterations in various tumors. However, the functional importance of miR-524-5p in NFAs remains unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of overexpressing miR-524-5p on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumorigenicity of pituitary-derived folliculostellate (PDFS) cells using lentiviral transfection. Interestingly, the results showed that overexpressing miR-524-5p downregulated pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 (PTTG1) binding factor (PBF) expression at both mRNA and protein levels and significantly attenuated cell proliferation, clonogenicity, migration, and invasion in vitro. Moreover, enhancing miR-524-5p blocked tumor growth in a nude mouse xenograft model in vivo. These findings suggest that miR-524-5p appears to play a critical role in the regulation of biological properties of PDFS cells, and may represent a potential therapeutic target for NFAs.