EGR3 Polymorphism Is a Potential Susceptibility Factor of Schizophrenia Risk in a Chinese Population.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (EGR3 rs1996147; EGR4 rs3813226, rs6747506; ERBB3 rs2292238; and ERBB4 rs707284, rs7560730) and the risk of schizophrenia (SZ) in a Chinese population. Materials and Methods: We conducted a case-control study, including 248 patients with SZ and 236 healthy controls matched for age and sex. The Mass-array platform was used to detect all the genotypes of the SNPs. Results: The results revealed that the EGR3 rs1996147 AA genotype was associated with borderline decreased SZ risk (AA vs. GG: adjusted OR = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.18-1.02, p = 0.06). However, no significant correlation was found between the other SNPs and overall SZ risk. Subgroup analysis also failed to show any significant association between all SNPs and the risk of SZ. Conclusion: In summary, this study revealed that the EGR3 rs1996147 AA genotype was associated with a borderline risk for SZ.

The diagnostic and prognostic value of exosomal microRNAs in lung cancer: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that many exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) can be used as non-invasive biomarkers of lung cancer, but their diagnostic and prognostic values need to be further clarified. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search in Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases, obtained relevant articles and extracted data, and used statistical methods and statistical software to comprehensively evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of exosomal miRNAs in lung cancer. REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42023447398. RESULTS: In terms of diagnosis, two exosomal miRNAs (miR-486-5p and miR-451a) were reported with the highest frequency in lung cancer patients, both of which had good diagnostic value. Compared with the control group, the pooled sensitivities of miR-486-5p and miR-451a were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73-0.86) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.60-0.87), specificities: 0.93 (95% CI: 0.63-0.99) and 0.85 (95% CI: 0.72-0.92), and AUCs: 0.85 (95% CI: 0.81-0.88) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.84-0.90), for the respective miRNAs. For prognosis, in lung cancer patients with abnormally expressed exosomal miRNAs, miR-1290 was associated with PFS outcome; miR-382, miR-1246, miR-23b-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-10b-5p were associated with OS outcome; miR-21 and miR-4257 were associated with DFS outcome; miR-125a-3p and miR-625-5p were associated with PFS and OS outcomes; miR-216b and miR-451a were associated with OS and DFS outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Exosomal miRNAs are valuable biomarkers in lung cancer patients. Exosomal miR-486-5p and miR-451a can be used as new diagnostic biomarkers for lung cancer. Dysregulated exosomal miRNAs could serve as indicators of survival outcomes in lung cancer patients.

Phenotype and genotype analysis for Helicobacter pylori antibiotic resistance in outpatients: a retrospective study.

To investigate the antibiotic resistance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in outpatients and to explore the consistency between genotype and phenotype of H. pylori antibiotic resistance. A retrospective study on outpatients screened with urea breath test for H. pylori infection in Nanjing First Hospital from April 2018 to January 2022. Patients who tested positive underwent a consented upper endoscopy, and the H. pylori infection was confirmed by rapid urease test (RUT) and H. pylori culture. For antibiotic resistance phenotype analysis, the H. pylori strains isolated from gastric biopsy were tested for antibiotic resistance phenotype by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test. In addition, the antibiotic resistance genotype of isolated H. pylori was tested with a real-time polymerase chain reaction. A total of 4,399 patients underwent H. pylori infection screening, and 3,306 H. pylori strains were isolated. The antibiotic resistance phenotype test revealed that the resistance rates of metronidazole (MTZ), clarithromycin (CLR), levofloxacin (LEV), amoxicillin (AMX), furazolidone (FR), and tetracycline (TE) were 74.58%, 48.61%, 34.83%, 0.76%, 0.27%, and 0.09%, respectively. Additionally, the antibiotic resistance genotype test revealed that rdxA gene mutation A610G (92.96%), A91G (92.95%), C92A (93.00%), and G392A (95.07%) were predominant in H. pylori with MTZ resistance; 23S rRNA gene mutation A2143G (86.47%) occurred in most H. pylori with CLR resistance; and gyrA gene mutation 87Ile/Lys/Tyr/Arg (97.32%) and 91Asn/Gly/Tyr (90.61%) were the most popular mutations in strains with LEV resistance. The phenotypic resistance and genotypic resistance to CLR (kappa value = 0.824) and LEV (kappa value = 0.895) were in good agreement. The history of eradication with MTZ, CLR, LEV, and AMX was correlated with H. pylori resistance. In short, this study demonstrated that drug resistance of H. pylori was mainly to MTZ, CLR, and LEV in local outpatients. Three drugs can be selected for increased MICs (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) via single chromosomal mutations. In addition, the genotype could be used to predict the phenotypic H. pylori resistance to CLR and LEV. IMPORTANCE Helicobacter pylori is a key bacterium that causes stomach diseases. There was a high prevalence of H. pylori in the Chinese population. We analyzed the resistance phenotype and genotype characteristics of H. pylori in 4,399 outpatients at the First Hospital of Nanjing, China. We found a higher resistance rate to metronidazole (MTZ) , clarithromycin (CLR), and levofloxacin (LEV), and the genotype could be used to predict the phenotypic H. pylori resistance to CLR and LEV. This study provides information on H. pylori infection and also provides guidance for clinical doctors' drug treatment.

Prognostic role of E2F1 gene expression in human cancer: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: E2F1 has been confirmed to be highly expressed in a variety of cancers. To better understand the prognostic value of E2F1 in cancer patients, this study was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the prognostic value of E2F1 in cancer according to published data. METHOD: PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI database were searched until May 31th, 2022 by using key words to retrieve the published essays on the role of E2F1 expression in the prognostic value of cancer. The essays were identified according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The pooled result of hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval was calculated with Stata17.0 software. RESULT: A total of 17 articles were included in this study involved in 4481 cancer patients. The pooled results showed that higher E2F1 expression was significantly correlated with unfavorable overall survival (HR = 1.10, I2 = 95.3%, *PHeterogeneity = 0.000) and disease-free survival (HR = 1.41, I2 = 95.2%, *PHeterogeneity = 0.000) of cancer patients. Such a significant association of was maintained subgroup of sample size of patients (> 150: for OS, HR = 1.77, and for DFS, HR = 0.91; or < 150: for OS, HR = 1.93, and for DFS, HR = 4.39), ethnicity (Asian: for OS, HR = 1.65, and for DFS, HR = 1.08; or not Asian: HR = 3.55, and for DFS, HR = 2.87), the data from database (clinical: for OS, HR = 1.24, and for DFS, HR = 1.40; or database: for OS, HR = 2.29, and for DFS, HR = 3.09), paper published year (after 2014: for OS, HR = 1.90;and for DFS,HR = 1.87; or before 2014: for OS, HR = 1.40, and for DFS, HR = 1.22); cancer type (female specific cancer: for OS, HR = 1.41, and for DFS, HR = 0.64; or non-gender specific cancers: for OS, HR = 2.00, and for DFS, HR = 2.95). In addition, according to the database data, we also found that higher E2F1 expression level would lead to worse prognosis of patients, and the results were consistent with the statistical analysis results in the paper. CONCLUSION: E2F1 could be served as a prognostic biomarker in cancer patients and higher levels of in cancer patients could predict shorter overall survival and disease-free survival.

Association between atherogenic index of plasma and prehypertension or hypertension among normoglycemia subjects in a Japan population: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), consisting of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is applied to estimate the cardiovascular disease risk. The evidence regarding the association between AIP and prehypertension or hypertension remains inconclusive. This study was conducted to investigate the association of AIP and prehypertension or hypertension in normoglycemic subjects in Japan. METHODS: In the present cross-sectional study, 15,453 normoglycemic participants aged 18 years or older in Gifu, Japan, were evaluated. The selected participants were separated into four groups in the light of AIP quartiles, ranging from the lowest quartile (Q1) to the highest quartile (Q4). And the association between AIP and prehypertension or hypertension was explored with multivariate logistic regression by gradually adjusting model. RESULTS: Among the 15,453 participants, aged of 43.7 ± 8.9 years, and of whom 45.5% were females, the prevalence rates of prehypertension or hypertension were 27.68% (4,278) and 6.23% (962) respectively. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, participants in the highest AIP quartile had an increase risk in prehypertension and hypertension, compared with participants the lowest one, the odds ratios (OR) were 1.15 (95%CI: 1.00-1.13, P = 0.045) for prehypertension and 1.54 (95%CI:1.16-2.04, P = 0.003) for hypertension after adjusting confounders. In subgroup analyses, the high risk of hypertension was also observed for female participants in the highest AIP quartile (Q4) (OR = 2.19, 95%CI: 1.37-3.49, P = 0.001), especially between the ages of 40 and 60 years (OR = 2.20, 95%CI: 1.24-3.88, P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Higher AIP is significantly and positively associated with the risk of prehypertension or hypertension in normoglycemic subjects in Gifu, Japan, which was more pronounced in the female population, especially between the years of 40 and 60.

The diagnostic and prognostic role of miR-27a in cancer.

MicroRNA-27a (miR-27a) has been reported to be abnormally expressed in patients with cancer, and it could play potential roles as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of cancers. However, the diagnostic and prognostic role remains unclear. Hence, this meta-analysis, based on published data, was conducted to assess the utility of miR-27a as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in various cancers. To identify eligible studies, databases: Web of Science, PubMed, and CNKI were searched, with 868 literatures obtained, 16 of which were included in the Meta-analysis. The pooled results of studies conducted with serum/plasma showed that miR-27a was a valuable diagnostic biomarker in cancers (area under curve (AUC)= 0.91, sensitivity (SEN)= 0.84, specificity (SPE)= 0.85), with the diagnostic value slightly reduced in tumor tissue samples (AUC=0.83, SEN=0.78, SPE: 0.74). Additionally, the pooled results revealed that high expression of miR-27a predicted poor prognosis of cancer in serum/plasma (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.63, PHeterogeneity = 0.278, I2= 21.50%) but not in tumor tissue (HR = 0.98, PHeterogeneity =0.577, I2= 0.0). In brief, our results suggested that miR-27a in serum/plasma or tumor tissue could act as a diagnostic biomarker, and that miR-27a in serum/plasma could predict cancer patients' survival.