Role of lipocalin 2 in stroke.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide; however, the treatment choices available to neurologists are limited in clinical practice. Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) is a secreted protein, belonging to the lipocalin superfamily, with multiple biological functions in mediating innate immune response, inflammatory response, iron-homeostasis, cell migration and differentiation, energy metabolism, and other processes in the body. LCN2 is expressed at low levels in the brain under normal physiological conditions, but its expression is significantly up-regulated in multiple acute stimulations and chronic pathologies. An up-regulation of LCN2 has been found in the blood/cerebrospinal fluid of patients with ischemic/hemorrhagic stroke, and could serve as a potential biomarker for the prediction of the severity of acute stroke. LCN2 activates reactive astrocytes and microglia, promotes neutrophil infiltration, amplifies post-stroke inflammation, promotes blood-brain barrier disruption, white matter injury, and neuronal death. Moreover, LCN2 is involved in brain injury induced by thrombin and erythrocyte lysates, as well as microvascular thrombosis after hemorrhage. In this paper, we review the role of LCN2 in the pathological processes of ischemic stroke; intracerebral hemorrhage; subarachnoid hemorrhage; and stroke-related brain diseases, such as vascular dementia and post-stroke depression, and their underlying mechanisms. We hope that this review will help elucidate the value of LCN2 as a therapeutic target in stroke.

Trimethylamine N-oxide is associated with coronary atherosclerotic burden in non-ST-segment myocardial infarction patients: SZ-NSTEMI prospective cohort study.

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is reported to accelerate atherosclerosis and the development of adverse cardiac outcomes. Relationship between coronary atherosclerotic burden and TMAO has been examined in stable coronary artery disease and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, but not in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). We examined the association between TMAO and coronary atherosclerotic burden in NSTEMI. In this prospective cohort study, two groups including NSTEMI (n = 73) and age-sex matched Healthy (n = 35) individuals were enrolled between 2019 and 2020. Coronary atherosclerotic burden was stratified based on the number of diseased coronary vessels and clinical risk scores including SYNTAX and GENSINI. Fasting plasma TMAO was measured by isotope dilution high-performance liquid chromatography. The median plasma TMAO levels were significantly higher in the NSTEMI group than in the Healthy group, respectively (0.59 µM; interquartile range [IQR]: 0.43-0.78 versus 0.42 µM; IQR: 0.33-0.64; P = 0.006). Within the NSTEMI group, higher TMAO levels were observed in the multivessel disease (MVD) versus single vessel disease (P = 0.002), and intermediate-high risk (score ≥ 23) versus low risk (score < 23) of SYNTAX (P = 0.003) and GENSINI (P = 0.005). TMAO level remained an independent predictor of MVD (odds ratio [OR]: 5.94, P = 0.005), intermediate-high risk SYNTAX (OR: 3.61, P = 0.013) and GENSINI scores (OR: 4.60, P = 0.008) following adjustment for traditional risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis for TMAO predicted MVD (AUC: 0.73, 95% confidence interval [Cl]: 0.60-0.86, P = 0.002), intermediate-high SYNTAX score (AUC: 0.70, 95% Cl: 0.58-0.82, P = 0.003) and GENSINI score (AUC: 0.70, 95% Cl: 0.57-0.83, P = 0.005). In all, TMAO levels are independently associated with high coronary atherosclerotic burden in NSTEMI.

Skeletal meroterpenoids from Ganoderma petchii mushrooms that potentially stimulate umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells.

(±)-Petchilactones A-C (1-3), three pairs of enantiomeric meroterpenoids respectively with a 6/6/5/5 or a 5/5/5/7/6 ring system were isolated from Ganoderma petchii. Their structures including absolute configurations were assigned by using spectroscopic, computational, and X-ray diffraction methods. Compounds 1 and 2 represent a new skeletal meroterpenoid. Biological evaluation found that (-)-1 and (-)-3 could induce umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells into keratinocyte-like cells.