Incidence tendency, etiological classification and outcome of congenital hypothyroidism in Guangzhou, China: an 11-year retrospective population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: An increased incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has been described worldwide over the years. In this study, we aimed to investigate the epidemiologic characteristics of CH, the iodine status in Guangzhou, China and to investigate which factors might influence the CH incidence during the period 2010-2020. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all cases of CH detected by newborn screening during the period 2010-2020. CH was classified as either suspected thyroid dyshormonogenesis (SDH) or thyroid dysgenesis (TD) based on thyroid ultrasound at first diagnosis. Patients were re-evaluated after 4 weeks of L-thyroxine withdrawal at age of 2-3 years to confirm the diagnosis of permanent CH (PCH) or transient CH (TCH). RESULTS: From 2010 to 2020, 1,655 patients with CH were confirmed from 2,400,383 newborns (1:1,450). The CH incidence increased from 1:2,584 in period [2010-2014] to 1:1,086 in period [2015-2020]. Among the 1,337 patients with thyroid ultrasound, 84.29% were SDH whereas 15.71% had TD. Further analysis revealed that more SDH (78.32%) were TCH whereas more TD (87.12%) turned to be PCH. The proportion of blood spot thyrotropin values >5 mIU/L ranged from 8.03 to 20.46%, indicating iodine deficiency. The prevalence of preterm infants increased from 5.50% in period [2010-2014] to 7.06% in period [2015-2020] (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In the past decade, the CH incidence has increased progressively. SDH was the majority of CH, most of which were TCH, while most patients with TD were PCH. The increased incidence might be mainly due to iodine deficiency and increased rates of preterm infants in our study.

Plasma Choline as a Diagnostic Biomarker in Slow Coronary Flow.

AIM: The slow coronary flow (SCF) phenomenon was characterized by delayed perfusion of epicardial arteries, and no obvious coronary artery lesion in coronary angiography. The prognosis of patients with slow coronary flow was poor. However, there is lack of rapid, simple, and accurate method for SCF diagnosis. This study aimed to explore the utility of plasma choline as a diagnostic biomarker for SCF. METHODS: Patients with coronary artery stenosis <40% evaluated by the coronary angiogram method were recruited in this study and were grouped into normal coronary flow (NCF) and SCF by thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame count (TFC). Plasma choline concentrations of patients with NCF and SCF were quantified by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Correlation analysis was performed between plasma choline concentration and TFC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with or without confounding factor adjustment was applied to predict the diagnostic power of plasma choline in SCF. RESULTS: Forty-four patients with SCF and 21 patients with NCF were included in this study. TFC in LAD, LCX, and RCA and mean TFC were significantly higher in patients with SCF in comparison with patients with NCF (32.67 ± 8.37 vs. 20.66 ± 3.41, P < 0.01). Plasma choline level was obviously higher in patients with SCF when compared with patients with NCF (754.65 ± 238.18 vs. 635.79 ± 108.25, P=0.007). Plasma choline level had significantly positive correlation with Mean TFC (r = 0.364, P=0.002). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that choline with or without confounding factor adjustment had an AUC score of 0.65 and 0.77, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: TFC were closely related with plasma choline level, and plasma choline can be a suitable and stable diagnostic biomarker for SCF.

MicroRNA-147b promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell aggressiveness through negatively regulating microfibril-associated glycoprotein 4 (MFAP4) and affects prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is widely known as the leading cause of death in patients with lung cancer. Extensive evidence has determined that microRNAs (miRNAs) exert critical effects on various biological processes in tumorigenesis. microRNA-147b (miR-147b) has been reported to serve as an oncogenic molecule in colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, however, its prognostic value and biological effect in LUAD remain rare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: miR-147b and microfibril-associated glycoprotein 4 (MFAP4) data were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to determine their expression levels in LUAD tissues. Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the overall survival curves for the prognostic power of miR-147b and MFAP4 identification. Chi-square test was utilized to demonstrate the association between clinical characteristics and miR-147b or MFAP4 in LUAD. Luciferse reporter assay was implemented to identify the correlation between miR-147b and MFAP4. The mRNA and protein levels were detected by qRT-PCR and western blotting, respectively. To explore the effects of miR-147b and its potential mechanism in LUAD, cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8), colony formation and transwell assays were performed in LUAD cells with abnormal expression of miR-147b or/and MFAP4. RESULTS: Our results showed that miR-147b was up-regulated in LUAD tissues and cell lines, which induced poor outcome. Conversely, MFAP4, the putative target gene of miR-147b, was down-regulated in LUAD. The expression of MFAP4 in LUAD cells was negatively regulated by miR-147b. Results of experiments in vitro revealed that miR-147b could promote cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion and migration, while up-regulation of MFAP4 suppressed the impacts of miR-147b on cell malignant aggressiveness in A549 and Calu-3 cells. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, these findings determined that miR-147b contributed to the progression of LUAD via targeting MFAP4. Thus, understanding the potential mechanism of miR-147b/MFAP4 may improve the treatment of cancers, especially LUAD.