miRNA-143 as a potential biomarker in the detection of bladder cancer: a meta-analysis.

Aim: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the value of miRNA-143 in the early detection of bladder cancer (BCa). Methods: CNKI, WanFang, PubMed and Wiley Online Library databases were explored according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol. A random-effects model was used to obtain pooled sensitivity, specificity and other related indicates. Results: Six studies were included for analysis. The overall pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.74-0.85) and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.78-0.91), and the area under the curve was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.85-0.91). Coupled with miR-100, it showed better diagnostic power (area under the curve: 0.95). Conclusion: miRNA-143 may serve as a promising noninvasive tool for the early detection of BCa.

Bladder cancer (BCa) is a common and deadly malignant tumor worldwide; however, noninvasive diagnosis can significantly improve the prognosis of patients. Recently, miRNAs have emerged as potential diagnostic biomarkers for BCa. Among them, miRNA-143 has shown promising results in several studies. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the overall diagnostic accuracy of miRNA-143 for BCa through a systematic review and meta-analysis of six published articles. Excitingly, the results of this meta-analysis suggest that miRNA-143 has potential diagnostic value in BCa. Particularly, miRNA-143 combined with miRNA-100 maintained better competence. Besides, miRNA-143 in plasma exhibited better diagnostic strength than that in urine. The authors believe that their study provides valuable insights into the use of miRNA-143 as a diagnostic biomarker for BCa.

A meta-analysis of UCA1 accuracy in the detection of bladder cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Bladder cancer (BCa) exhibits a relatively high prevalence, yet convenient tools for its early detection are lacking. Our study aims to assess the diagnostic value of Urothelial Carcinoma-Associated 1 (UCA1) in the early detection of BCa. METHODS: Systematic searches were performed in electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP) until 20 July 2023. QUADAS-2 was used for quality assessment, while Meta-DiSc 1.4 and STATA 14.0 were employed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1252 BCa patients and 779 controls, from 12 identified articles, were included. UCA1 showed strong discriminatory ability in BCa detection, with an overall sensitivity of 0.84 specificity of 0.91, and a 0.91 area under the curve (AUC). Strikingly, UCA1 expressed in urine and tissue exhibited higher diagnostic value (0.92 AUC) compared to that in blood (0.86 AUC). Furthermore, urine UCA1 demonstrated remarkable diagnostic performance with 91% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Deeks' funnel plot detected no substantial publication bias. CONCLUSION: UCA1 could serve as a potential biomarker for BCa detection with good diagnostic performance. Besides, compared to UCA1 in blood, urine and tissue UCA1 exhibited higher diagnostic value. Further prospective clinical research is needed to corroborate the conclusion. PROSPERO REGISTRATION: CRD42023463210.

Body Mass Index is Associated with blood pressure and vital capacity in medical students.

BACKGROUND: The widely reported associations between body mass index (BMI) and various chronic diseases, such as hypertension and asthma, have garnered significant attention. Nonetheless, there remains a dearth of research dedicated to understanding the health impacts of medical school on the students, who experience considerable academic pressure. In that context, this study was driven by the goal of investigating the intricate interplay between BMI, blood pressure (BP), and vital capacity among medical students. METHODS: This study included a cohort of 843 medical students enrolled at Southern Medical University who were selected through random cluster sampling. Within this cohort, measurements of height, weight, BP, and vital capacity were taken. Subsequently, both BMI and vital capacity index (VCI) were calculated for each participant. By categorizing the subjects into four groups according to BMI classifications, a comprehensive analysis that included correlation assessments and binomial logistic regression was conducted. RESULTS: Within the participant pool, 9.4% and 3.8% of participants were classified as overweight and obese, respectively. Additionally, the prevalence of prehypertension, hypertension, and poor VCI was 18.1%, 2.7%, and 13.5%, respectively. Notably, male students exhibited a higher prevalence of the aforementioned health issues than their female counterparts. Correlation analysis revealed that BMI displayed positive associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and vital capacity (r = 0.372, 0.257, 0.428; P < 0.001). However, an inverse correlation emerged between BMI and VCI (r = -0.284, P < 0.001). Further analysis revealed that overweight and obese individuals faced an elevated risk of high blood pressure ([OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.15-3.67] and [OR 5.44, 95% CI 2.28-13.02], respectively) compared to their normal-weight counterparts. Moreover, these groups also exhibited a higher risk of poor VCI ([OR 5.25, 95% CI 3.04-9.06] and [OR 15.61, 95% CI 6.81-35.81], respectively), while underweight subjects experienced a reduced risk ([OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.07-0.52]). CONCLUSIONS: BMI demonstrated a notably strong positive correlation with both BP and vital capacity and a negative correlation with VCI. Therefore, for medical students as well as the daily health care of patients, weight control is recommended to better combat obesity-related diseases, for example, cardiopulmonary diseases, gout and diabetes.

Diagnostic performance of urine and blood microRNAs for bladder cancer: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare and assess the diagnostic value of urine and blood microRNAs(miRNAs) in discriminating bladder cancer (BCa). METHODS: A total of 45 articles were selected, which included 4050 BCa cases and 3490 controls. Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve analyses were performed, an area under curve (AUC) was calculated and pooled accuracy was analyzed using Stata 16.0 software. RESULTS: The AUC, sensitivity, and specificity for urinary miRNAs were 0.88, 0.82, and 0.81, respectively, those for blood miRNAs were 0.91, 0.86, and 0.82. For miR-143, the AUC was 0.88, with 0.79 sensitivity and 0.87 specificity. The results of subgroup analyses and meta-regression suggested the publication year, ethnicity, sample size, miRNAs type, and specimen type were possible sources of heterogeneity. The Deeks funnel plot indicated there was no significant publication bias. CONCLUSION: Urine and blood-based miRNAs may potentially be promising biomarkers for noninvasive early detection of bladder tumor. The diagnostic accuracy of blood-based miRNAs would be better than those of urine-based ones, and multiple miRNA panels yielded more accurate results than single-miRNA assay. Besides, miR-143 is a promising candidate biomarker for diagnosing BCa. More prospective and standardized studies are required to confirm the future findings.

Polysaccharide from flammuliana velutipes improves colitis via regulation of colonic microbial dysbiosis and inflammatory responses.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether Flammuliana Velutipes Polysaccharide (FVP) could aid in the prevention of colitis. Effect of FVP on colitis was evaluated using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in rats. Influence of FVP on the expression of inflammation related biomarkers and signal pathway element of TLR4\NF-κB were assessed. The composition and taxonomy of colonic microbiota were analyzed by 16S rDNA high throughput sequencing, and the concentrations of caecal short fatty chain acids were assessed by chromatography-mass spectrometry. Our results showed that FVP treatment could regulate the colonic microbial dysbiosis and promote the levels of caecal short fatty chain acids, leading to down-regulation of TLR4\NF-κB signal pathway, which finally ameliorate the colitis. Thus, the present study is the first attempt to elucidate the effect of FVP on colitis and support the potential application of FVP as a functional food ingredient or preventive drugs for colitis.

A novel polysaccharide isolated from Flammulina velutipes, characterization, macrophage immunomodulatory activities and its impact on gut microbiota in rats.

The structural characteristics of a novel Flammulina velutipes polysaccharide (FVP2) were explored in this study. Besides, immunomodulatory activities of FVP2 on RAW 264.7 cell and its impact on gut microbiota in rats were investigated. FVP2 has a molecular weight of 18.3 kD, and its main components include galactose (19.96%), glucose (60.66%) and mannose (19.38%). By NMR analysis, the main-chain structure consisted of (1 â†’ 3)-linked-ß-D-Gal, (1 â†’ 6) -linked-ß-D-Gal, (1 â†’ 6)-linked-α-D-Glc and (1 â†’ 3,6)-linked-α-D-Man was identified. Results of the in vitro assays on RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells showed FVP2 could significantly up-regulate the expression of NO, TNF-α and IL-6. FVP2 was intragastrically administered to rats for 2 weeks. Compared with the control group, two caecal short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentration (isobutyric acid and butyric acid) and the abundance of beneficial microbiota of the FVP2-treated group were significantly increased (p < .05) respectively. The results demonstrated that FVP2 could effectively enhance the level of butyric acid and increase beneficial gut microbiota, which could improve the intestinal barrier function and maintain the intestinal mucosal integrity, suggesting that FVP2 could potentially be an immunomodulators or a functional food to promote intestinal health.

Structural characteristics and bioactive properties of a novel polysaccharide from Flammulina velutipes.

A new water-soluble polysaccharide (FVP1) was extracted from Flammulina velutipes by traditional method "water extraction and alcohol precipitation" and purified by column chromatography. Physicochemical characterization showed that FVP1 was a homogeneous polysaccharide with a relative molecular weight of 54.78 kDa. It is composed of mannose (7.74%), glucose (70.41%), and galactose (16.38%). FVP1 (1000 mg/mL) possessed significant immune activity by increasing the secretion of nitric oxide (NO), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (3183 ±â€¯133.84 pg/mL), interleukin (IL)-6 (1133.21 ±â€¯39.05 pg/mL), and IL-12 (579.96 ±â€¯74.53 pg/mL) in macrophages. Furthermore, FVP1 showed significant hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBV) activity through reducing the expression of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA replication. These results suggest a novel role for FVP1 to be applied as an immunomodulators in dietary supplements to prevent HBV infection.

Enhancement of Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Nobiletin in Macrophages by a Nano-Emulsion Preparation.

Lots of active substances are hydrophobic materials at ambient and body temperatures, decreasing their bioavailability and posing great challenges to successful incorporation into medication and functional foods. The goal of this research was to develop a nanoemulsion delivery system containing a hydrophobic crystalline bioactive component (nobiletin) to improve the anti-inflammatory activity. Nobiletin was incorporated into the oily phase, and the nanoemulsions were fabricated using high-speed and high-pressure homogenization. Particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential were evaluated by a commercial laser light scattering instrument. The anti-inflammatory activities were performed in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The developed nobiletin nanoemulsion had an average droplet size of 168.6 ± 3.8 nm and a PDI of 0.168, while the average diameter of the blank nanoemulsion was 157.3 ± 1.9 nm and its PDI was 0.161. The zeta potential values of nobiletin nanoemulsion and blank nanoemulsion were -68.45 ± 0.64 and -62.75 ± 0.21 mV, respectively. All obtained nanoemulsions kept physically stable during storage at 4, 25, and 37 °C. A nobiletin-loaded nanoemulsion showed an enhanced anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-induced macrophages, with a decrease in pro-inflammatory mediators and cytokines. The findings suggested that the nanoemulsion would be used as an effective delivery system for nobiletin to improve its anti-inflammatory activity.

Plasma concentration of 14 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) among children from seven cities in Guangdong, China.

The toxicity and persistence of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in humans have drawn growing concerns, particularly for children. However, data regarding the concentrations of PFAAs in children are limited. In this study, we measured the concentrations of 14 PFAAs in plasma samples collected from 1192 children aged 0-7years from 7 cities in Guangdong Province: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhanjiang. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were detected in >99.5% of the analysed samples. PFOS had the highest median concentration (23.6ng/mL) in the total samples, followed by PFOA (2.8ng/mL). The median concentrations of the other PFAAs were lower than 0.4ng/mL. The concentrations of perfluorohexanoic acid, perfluorononanoic acid, perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluorododecanoic acid, perfluorohexane sulfonate, PFOA and PFOS in children from Foshan were significantly higher than those found in other cities (p<0.001). Negative correlations between most of the PFAA concentrations and age (r=-0.06--0.45) were found in all children. Weak to moderate correlations (r=0.080-0.698) were observed between all PFAA concentrations. Our findings indicated a high exposure of children to PFAAs in the early life-stage. The exposure sources and pathways of PFAAs in different regions are different. Considering a lack of information on the exposure pathways and health status, more studies are needed to evaluate the exposure resources and assess the health risk of PFAA exposure in children.

Potential Role of Circulating microRNA-21 for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Diagnosis: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Circulating microRNA-21 (miR-21) is known to be aberrantly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and this implies that microRNA-21 is a promising and novel indicator of HCC. However, a systematic evaluation of the performance of microRNA-21 as a diagnostic marker for HCC has yet to be conducted. Therefore, the test performance of circulating miR-21 for HCC was assessed in this study. METHODS: Three common international databases and a Chinese electronic database were used to search for literature on the diagnostic accuracy of microRNA-21 for HCC. The pooled results included the sensitivity and specificity of microRNA-21 for HCC detection and were analyzed with a random effect model. The area under summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to estimate overall test performance. RESULTS: A total of 339 HCC patients and 338 controls without HCC from four published studies were eligible for the meta-analysis and included in our study. The test performance of circulating miR-21 in HCC detection was assessed with the summary estimates of sensitivity and specificity, which were 81.2% (95% CI: 70.8% to 88.4%) and 84.8% (95% CI: 75.1% to 91.2%), respectively. The value of AUC was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.87 to 0.92). Significant inter-study heterogeneity was detected by our analysis, and sub-group analyses suggested that the type of control group was probably a source of heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Our current findings suggested that circulating miR-21 can serve as a potential co-biomarker for early-stage HCC diagnosis. Thorough large-scale studies are needed to confirm the generalizability of our findings.

Test performance of sputum microRNAs for lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early detection and precise diagnosis are critical for the patients with lung cancer. Increasing evidence has suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the diagnosis of lung cancer. To evaluate the overall diagnostic performance of sputum miRNAs for the detection of lung cancer, a meta-analysis was performed. METHODS: A systematic search for published literature evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of sputum miRNAs in lung cancer was performed to determine pooled sensitivity and specificity. A summary receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess the overall test performance. Subgroup analysis was utilized to explore potential sources of heterogeneity in the included studies. RESULTS: Eight studies with a total of 514 patients and 491 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Sputum miRNAs had a pooled sensitivity of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.66-0.70) and a pooled specificity of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86-0.91) for the detection of lung cancer, with an area under the summary receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.83. Significant interstudy heterogeneity for specificity was observed, with miRNA profiles being a possible source. CONCLUSION: Sputum miRNAs are potentially useful noninvasive markers for diagnosis of lung cancer. The diagnostic specificity of sputum miRNAs may be influenced by the miRNA profiles. It would be important for further work to evaluate the generalizability of our results by methodologically rigorous studies on a well-defined patient population.

Protective mechanism of andrographolide against carbon tetrachloride-induced acute liver injury in mice.

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of andrographolide (AP), a bioactive component isolated from Andrographis paniculata, on carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced liver injury as well as the possible mechanisms involved in this protection in mice. Acute liver injury was induced by CCl(4) intoxication in mice. Serum biological analysis, lipid peroxides and antioxidant estimation, histopathological studies, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot assay were carried out. CCl(4) treatment resulted in severe hepatic injury, as evidenced by significant elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and typical histopathological changes, such as hepatocyte necrosis. Additionally, CCl(4) administration led to oxidative stress in mice, as indicated by a remarkable increase in the hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) level, together with a significant decrease in liver reduced glutathione (GSH) content. However, CCl(4)-induced hepatotoxicity was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with AP, as demonstrated by significant reduction of serum ALT, AST levels and hepatic MDA activity, along with a remarkable increase in hepatic GSH content. Histopathological changes induced by CCl(4) were also ameliorated by AP pretreatment. The marked increase of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) induced by CCl(4) was attenuated by AP, and the dramatic elevation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) at transcriptional and protein levels was augmented following AP pretreatment. AP can effectively prevent liver injury induced by CCl(4), which may be due to inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammatory responses.

Anti-inflammatory effect of soyasaponins through suppressing nitric oxide production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells by attenuation of NF-κB-mediated nitric oxide synthase expression.

The anti-inflammatory properties of soyasaponins (especially soyasaponins with different chemical structures) have scarcely been investigated. We investigated the inhibitory effects of five structural types of soyasaponins (soyasaponin A(1), A(2), I and soyasapogenol A, B) on the induction of nitric oxide (NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in murine RAW 264.7 cells activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I (25-200 µg/mL) dose-dependently inhibited the production of NO and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in LPS-activated macrophages, whereas soyasapogenol A and B did not. Furthermore, soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I suppressed the iNOS enzyme activity and down-regulated the iNOS mRNA expression both in a dose-dependent manner. The reporter gene assay revealed that soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I decreased LPS-induced nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activity. Soyasaponin A(1), A(2) and I exhibit anti-inflammatory properties by suppressing NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells through attenuation of NF-κB-mediated iNOS expression. It is proposed that the sugar chains present in the structures of soyasaponins are important for their anti-inflammatory activities. These results have important implication for using selected soyasaponins towards the development of effective chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory agents.

Effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on iron overload in mice with alcoholic liver disease.

Iron has long been related to the pathological process of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Liver iron overload is known to accelerate the development of ALD. In the present study we aimed to examine the effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on iron overload of ALD and to explore the potential mechanisms involved in its protection against ALD in mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were given alcohol by intragastric administration for 12 weeks. At the end of 8th week, ALD mice were treated for 4 weeks for 10, 20 and 30 mg kg(-1) EGCG by intraperitoneal injection. Liver injuries were assessed by histopathologic examination and Serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Serum iron content, hepatic iron concentration and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were examined. In addition, hepcidin mRNA levels and transferrin (Tf) and transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) protein levels of liver tissue were also evaluated. Compared with model group, treatment of ALD mice with EGCG ameliorated liver injuries, decreased serum iron level, hepatic iron levels and liver MDA contents, increased hepcidin mRNA level and decreased Tf and TfR1 protein expression in the liver. The results of our study explain a new point of view that the protective effect of EGCG on ALD is associated with its iron-chelating property. The possible mechanisms are that EGCG affects hepatic iron uptake and inhibits iron absorption in the small intestinal.

Simultaneous determination of ropivacaine, bupivacaine and dexamethasone in biodegradable PLGA microspheres by high performance liquid chromatography.

A simple and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with UV detector was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ropivacaine, bupivacaine and dexamethasone in biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres within 11 min. Chromatographic separation was performed on a XDB-C(18) column using a mobile phase comprised of acetonitrile-NaH(2)PO(4) buffer (pH 3.5, 30 mM) (30:70, v/v) with a flow rate gradient program. The method was in good linearity (r>0.999) over the range of 0.025-40.0 microg/ml for ropivacaine and bupivacaine, and 0.05-40 microg/ml for dexamethasone. The method was proved to be precise with intra- and inter-day precision less than 3.0% and 6.0% for all drugs and accurate with intra- and inter-day accuracy between -8.0% to 4.5% and between -5.0% to 5.5% for all drugs. The assay was rapid, simple and easy to apply. Therefore, it was very suitable for routine determination and quality control of ropivacaine, bupivacaine and dexamethasone in PLGA microspheres.