Disentangling the common genetic architecture and causality of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus with COVID-19 outcomes: genome-wide cross trait analysis and bi-directional Mendelian randomization study

COVID-19 may cause a dysregulation of the immune system and has complex relationships with multiple autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, little is known about their common genetic architecture. We analysed summary-level genetic data from the latest COVID-19 host genetics consortium and consortia on RA and SLE to examine the shared genetic etiology and causal relationship between COVID-19 and RA/SLE. The cross-trait meta-analysis identified 46, 47, and 19 shared genetic loci for severe COVID-19, COVID-19 hospitalization, and SARS-CoV-2 infection with RA, and 19, 24, and 11 shared loci with SLE, respectively. Shared genes were significantly enriched in the spleen, lung, whole blood, and small intestine, and involved in immune function, inflammation and coagulation process. Co-localization analysis identified eight shared loci in TYK2, IKZF3, COL11A2, PSORS1C1, MANEAL and COG6 genes for COVID-19 with RA, and four in CRHR1, FUT2 and NXPE3 genes for COVID-19 with SLE. Bi-directional Mendelian randomization analysis suggested RA is associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization, and COVID-19 is not related to RA or SLE. Our novel findings improved the understanding of the common genetic aetiology shared by COVID-19, RA and SLE, and suggested an increased risk of COVID-19 hospitalization in people with higher genetic liability to RA.

Tim-3 promoted renal ischemia/reperfusion injury through regulating mononuclear phagocyte system function / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of Tim-3 on the renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI),and explore the role of monocyte-macrophage cell system.Methods Totally 72 C57BL/ 6 mice were randomly divided into four groups (n =18 each).(1) IR + Tim-3 rnAb group (experimental group):Each mouse was intraperitoneally injected with 200μg of anti-Tim-3 mAb and the IR model of mouse kidney was established after 1 day;(2) IR + IgG monoclonal antibody group (negative control group):each mouse was intraperitoneally injected with anti-IgG mAb (200 μg) and the IR model of mouse kidney was established after 1 day;(3) IR group:mouse kidney IR model was established only;(4) Control group:mouse kidney IR model was not established.At 6,24 and 48 h after IR respectively,venous blood of 6 mice in each group was taken from the infrarenal vein.Scr and CystinC were detected and PAS staining was used to observe the pathological change of renal tissues.Cell apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining.Pax,bcl-2 and caspase-3 expression in renal tissue was detected by Western blotting.Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the distribution of Tim-3 and activated macrophage cells.Flow cytometry and ELISA were used to evaluate the level of Tim-3 and inflammatory cytokines secretion respectively.Results Compared with control group,the Tim-3 expression was dramatically increased in IR group and I/R + Tim-3 mAb group.The serum Scr and CystinC levels were increased in IR group,and Tim-3 blocking decreased the levels of serum Scr and CystinC (P＜0.05).PAS and TUNEL staining showed that renal injury score and apoptotic index were higher in IR group than those in control group.Tim-3mAb significantly decreased those markers,and ameliorated the renal tubulointerstitial injury induced by IRk The expression levels of Caspase-3 and Bax/bcl-2 was increased in IR group,but deceased by Tim-3mAb.IR induced F4/80 + distribution and inflammatory cytokines secretion in renal tubular interstitial tissues,while Tim-3mAb down-regulated F4/80 + activation and the levels of inflammatory cytokines.Conclusion The findings demonstrated Tim-3 may promoted renal IRI through regulating mononuclear phagocyte system function.

CD133 overexpression correlates with clinicopathological features of gastric cancer patients and its impact on survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: CD133 is one of the most commonly used markers of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are characterized by their ability for self-renewal and tumorigenicity. However, the clinical and prognostic significance of CD133 in gastric cancer remains controversial. To clarify a precise determinant of the clinical significance of CD133, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to elucidate the correlation of CD133 overexpression with prognosis and clinicopathological features of GC patients. METHODS: A search in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Medline, Web of Knowledge and Chinese CNKI, CBM (up to Jun 30, 2015) was performed using the following keywords gastric cancer, CD133, AC133, prominin-1, etc. Electronic searches were supplemented by hand searching reference lists, abstracts and proceedings from meetings. Outcomes included overall survival and various clinicopathological features. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies, and then RevMan 5.2.0 software was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: A total of 603 gastric cancer patients from 8 studies were included. The results of the meta-analyses showed that, there were significant differences of CD133 expression in the following comparisons: gastric cancer tissues vs. normal esophageal tissue (OR = 3.49, 95% CI [2.48, 490], P < 0.00001), lymph node metastasis vs. non-lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.75, 95% CI [1.99, 3.81], P < 0.00001), distant metastasis vs. non-distant metastasis (OR = 2.38, 95%CI [1.47, 3.85], P < 0.0004), clinical stages III~IV vs. clinical stages I~II (OR = 2.83, 95% CI [2.13, 3.76], P < 0.00001), as well as the accumulative 5-year overall survival rates of CD133-positive vs. CD133-negative patients (OR = 0.23, 95% CI [0.16, 0.33], P < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: Overexpression of CD133 is associated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, poor TNM stage. Additionally, CD133-positive gastric cancer patients had worse prognosis. Our results indicate that CD133 may be involved in the carcinogenesis of gastric cancer. Evaluation of cytoplasmic CD133 overexpression in gastric cancer tissue sections may be useful in the future as a novel prognostic factor. Nevertheless, due to the poor quality and small sample size of included trials, more well-designed multi-center randomized controlled trials should be performed.

Role of β-catenin signaling pathway in the epithelial to mesenchymal transition induced by parathyroid hormone in renal tubular epithelial cells / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (HK-2 cells),and determine the role of β-catenin signaling pathway.Method The expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA),E-cadherin and β-catenin in HK-2 cells was measured by real-time PCR,Western blotting and immunofluorescence technique.The signaling pathway by which PTH activated EMT in HK -2 cells was identified by using synthetic β-catenin siRNA.Results Parathyroid hormone (10-10mol/ L) increased α-SMA expression and decreased E-cadherin expression in HK-2 cells (P＜ 0.01,respectively).Untreated cells showed the expression of E-cadherin,whereas α-SMA staining was noticeably increased in cells treated with PTH.β-catenin activity was significantly increased after exposed to PTH.Theα-SMA expression was decreased strongly and E-cadherin expression was increased after β-catenin siRNA transfection (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion PTH significantly induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition in HK-2 cells throughβ-catenin signaling pathway.

Clinical manifestations and pathological characteristics of 1gA nephropathy with hyperuricemia / 中华风湿病学杂志

Objective To explore the effect of serum uric acid on the clinical manifestations,pathological characteristics and prognosis of IgA nephropathy.Methods Four hundred and fifty-six cases of primary IgA nephropathy confirmed by renal biopsy from Jan 2007 to Oct 2010 in the Ji'nan Military General Hospital were reviewed retrospectively.The clinical manifestations and pathological characteristics of all the patients were analyzed,x2-test and t-test were used for statistical analysis.Results There were 127 cases with hyperuricemia in 456 IgAN patients (27.9％).The mean age,percentage of male patients,number of patients with hypertension,the serum cholesterol and triglyceride level,body mass index (BMI),serum creatinine and 24 hour urine protein level in hyperuricemia group were significantly higher than those with normal serum uric acid (P＜0.01).The renal pathological changes,glomerular score (8.1 ±0.8 v 5.3t0.9 ),tubulointerstitial score (4.2±0.4 vs 2.7±0.4) and vasculopathy score ( 1.43±0.60 vs 0.76±0.29) in the hyperuricemia group were more severe than those with normal serum uric acid (P＜0.01).Conclusion High level of serum uric acid can affect IgA nephropathy significantly.It is effe-ctive to delay the kindey damage and progression of IgA nephropathy by decreasing the level of uric acid and control the clinical parameters listed above.

Genistein attenuates parathyroid hormone-induced renal interstitial fibrosis through inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To investigate the role of genistein (Gen) in the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) induced by parathyroid hormone (PTH) in human renal tubular epithelia cells. Methods Real-time PCR, Western blotting and reporter gene assay were employed to detect the role of Gen in PTH-induced CTGF expression in HK-2 cells. The activity of NF-κB was measured by EMSA to investigate the mechanism by which PTH induced CTGF expression in HK-2 cells. Inhibitors of NF-κB signaling pathway were used to ascertain which signal pathway was involved. Results HK-2 cells had basic amount of CTGF mRNA and protein, which, however, increased significantly after treatment with PTH, and the luciferase activity increased to a higher level as compared with control group after treatment with 10-10 mol/L PTH for 12 h (1.89±0.08 vs 0.99±0.03, P＜0.01). Gen decreased the expressions of CTGF mRNA and protein induced by PTH in dose-dependent manner. The NF-κB of nucleus was inactivation without PTH, while the activity of NF-κB significantly increased after exposed to PTH, with the maximal response of PTH at a concentration of 10-10 mol/L and the best stimulating time at 30 minute. The NF-κB inhibitor PDTC reduced the increase of CTGF transcript levels in response to PTH stimulation. Gen blunted PTH-mediated NF-κB activation. Conclusion Gen inhibits CTGF expression induced by PTH through bloking NF-κB signaling pathway in human renal tubular epithelial cells.

Impact of parathyroid hormone on transition and connective tissue growth factor expression of human renal tubular epithelial cells / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the transition and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression of human renal proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK-2 . Methods The expression of CTGF mRNA and protein of HK-2 cells were measured by real time RT-PCR and Western blot respectively . The effect of PTH on the phenotypic transformation of HK-2 cells was examined by light microscopy . The expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in HK-2 cells was detected by immunofluorescence . Results Basal level of CTGF mRNA and the protein expression were detected in HK-2 ceils . PTH upregulated the expression of CTGF mRNA and protein with the maximal response at the concentration of 10-10 mol/L and the best stimulating time was at 72 h . After exposure to PTH (10-10tool/L) for 12 hours, the highest level of luciferase activity was 1 .96 fold as compared to control (1 .888±0 .078 vs 0 .989±0 .030, P＜0 .01 ) . Untreated cells showed negligible expression of ±-SMA,whereas ±-SMA expression was significantly increased in cells treated with PTH . Conclusion PTH up-regulates CTGF expression and induces transition of HK-2 cells .

Expression of connective tissue growth factor induced by parathyroid hormone via MAPK signaling pathway in human renal proximal tubular cells / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To evaluate the effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in human renal tubular epithelial cells, and to explore the role of MAPK signaling pathway. Methods Real time RT-PCR, Western blot, and reporter gene assay were employed to detect PTH-induced CTGF expression in HK-2 cells. Inhibitors (PD98059 and U0126) of MAPK signaling pathway were used to confirm involved signal pathway. Results HK-2 cells had basic expression level of CTGF mRNA and protein, which were increased significantly after treatment with PTH. The luciferase activity was up-regulated to a higher level as compared with control group after treatment with 10-10 mol/L PTH for 12 h [(1.8884±0.0780) vs (0.9891±0.0300) A, P<0.01]. Moreover, a small amount of p-ERK1/2 was detected in normal HK-2 cells, but it was increased significantly in response to PTH activation, most remarkably when treated with 10-10 mol/L PTH for 30 min. Inhibitors of MAPK signaling pathway, PD98059 and U0126, noticeably inhibited the expression of CTGF mRNA and protein as well as gene promoters in HK-2 cells. Conclusion PTH can induce higher expression of CTGF in HK-2 cells probably via MAPK signaling pathway.

Study of vascular smooth muscle cell calcification induced by hyperphosphate and intervented by atorvastatin / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To investigate the protective effects of atorvastatin on hyperphosphate-induced rat vascular smooth muscle ceils (RVSMCs) calcification and to discuss the mechanism. Methods RVSMCs were placed in various culture media, including normal phosphate medium, high phosphate medium, ZVAD-FMK medium and atorvastatin medium.Calcium content and cell protein content were quantified by the o-cresolphthalein complexone method and BCA protein assay respectively. Calcification was visualized by yon Kossa staining. And cell apoptosis was quantified by ELISA. Results (1)At day 3, 6, 9, RVSMCs calcification occurred more frequently in high phosphate medium than that in normal phosphate medium (P<0.05). (2)At day 6, RVSMCs calcification was significantly inhibited in 1.0 μmol/L and 2.0 μmol/LZVAD-FMK medium (P<0.05). And in 10 nmol/L and I00 nmol/L statin medium, RVSMCscalcium deposition significantly decreased (P<0.05). (3)RVSMCs apoptosis and calcification occurredfrequently in high phosphate medium. And atorvastatin significantly inhibited RVSMCs apoptosisboth in long-term and short-term (P<0.05). Conclusions Hyperphosphate can induce the calcium deposition of RVSMCs in vitro. Atorvastatin protects RVSMCs from phosphate-induced calcification by inhibiting apoptosis.

Effect of intact parathyroid hormone on residual renal function in hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure / 第二军医大学学报

Objective:To investigate the effect of the intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) on residual renal function (RRF). Methods: The relationship between iPTH and calcium, phosphorum, product Ca?P, hypertension, triglycende, cholesterol,left ventricular mass index(LVMI) and RRF in 120 hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure. Results: The results showed that 95. 9% of the hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure had secondary parathyroldism. It was found that iPTH was positively correlated with SBP,DBP, product Ca?P, triglycende and LVMI, and negatively correlated with endogenous creatinine clearance rate and KT/V. RRF had positive correlation with KT/V and SBP,DBP, calcium, product Ca?P, triglyceride, cholesterol and LVMI. Conclusion: iPTH level is elevated in hemodialysis patients, which may lead to RRF loss.