Noninvasive biomarkers for lupus nephritis.

Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most severe clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Notably, the clinical manifestations of LN are not always consistent with the histopathological findings. Therefore, the diagnosis and activity monitoring of this disease are challenging and largely depend on invasive renal biopsy. Renal biopsy has side effects and is associated with the risk of bleeding and infection. There is a growing interest in the development of novel noninvasive biomarkers for LN. In this review, we summarize most of the LN biomarkers discovered so far by correlating current knowledge with future perspectives. These biomarkers fundamentally reflect the biological processes of kidney damage and repair during disease. Furthermore, this review highlights the role of urinary cell phenotype detection in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of LN and summarizes the limitations and countermeasures of this test.

Nutrition, Physical Exercise, and the Prevalence of Sarcopenia in Elderly Residents in Nursing Homes in China.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with sarcopenia in elderly residents in three nursing homes in Suzhou City, East China including the association with nutrition and physical exercise. MATERIAL AND METHODS Elderly residents (n=316) from three nursing homes included 112 men and 204 women. The appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI), grip strength, and movements were measured to diagnose sarcopenia. The correlation between sarcopenia with age, sex, body mass index (BMI), ASMI, upper arm circumference, calf circumference, muscle content, grip strength, dietary intake, degree and duration of movement were also assessed. RESULTS The prevalence of sarcopenia was 28.8% (30.4% for men and 27.9% for women). Patients with sarcopenia were older compared with controls. Height, BMI, upper arm circumference, calf circumference and arm muscle mass, lower limb muscle mass, limb skeletal muscle index and ASMI, grip strength, and pace of movement were lower than controls. The prevalence of sarcopenia correlated with the intake of meat, fish, eggs, and milk, and duration of weekly aerobic and resistance exercise. Logistic regression analysis showed a positive correlation between the prevalence of sarcopenia and age, and a negative correlation between BMI and consumption of meat, eggs, and milk. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of sarcopenia in elderly residents in three nursing homes in Suzhou City was 28.8%. Increasing age was a risk factor for sarcopenia. Increased BMI and a diet containing meat, eggs, and milk were protective factors. The findings from this study provide support that adequate dietary protein can prevent sarcopenia in the elderly.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in CACNA 1A/CACNA 1C/CACNA 1H calcium channel genes with diabetic peripheral neuropathy in Chinese population.

The present study was conducted to explore the correlations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the calcium channel CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) amongst the Chinese population. In total, 281 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes participated in the present study. These patients were divided into the case group, which was subdivided into the DPN (143 cases) and the non-DPN groups (138 cases). Subsequently, 180 healthy individuals that had undergone routine health examinations were also recruited and assigned to the control group. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used to detect the genotype and allele frequencies of CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes; logistic regression analysis to investigate the association of gene polymorphisms with DNP. Gene-gene interactions were then detected by generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR). The results revealed that CACNA 1A rs2248069 and rsl6030, CACNA 1C rs216008 and rs2239050, and CACNA 1H rs3794619, and rs7191246 SNPs were all associated with DPN, while rs2248069, rsl6030, rs2239050, and rs7191246 polymorphisms were attributed to the susceptibility to DPN. It was also observed that the optimal models were three-, four- and five-dimensional models with a prediction accuracy of 61.05% and the greatest consistency of cross-validation was 10/10. In summary, these findings demonstrated that the SNPs in the CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes were involved in the pathophysiology of DPN. In addition, polymorphisms in the CACNA 1A, CACNA 1C, and CACNA 1H genes and their interactions also had effects on DPN.

Relationship between computed tomography morphology and prognosis of patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between computed tomography morphology and prognosis of patients with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). From May 2009 to May 2011, a total of 124 patients diagnosed with stage I NSCLC were included. All patients had complete chest computed tomography scans. Five-year follow-up was conducted. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate the prognostic factors for patients with stage I NSCLC. The 5-year survival rate was 67.74% (84/124). The 5-year survival rates of patients with stage T1a, T1b, and T2a were 89.19%, 75.00%, and 41.86%, respectively. The 5-year survival rates of patients with homogeneity, inhomogeneity, vacuole, and cavity were 68.42%, 72.09%, 59.46%, and 83.33%, respectively. The 5-year survival rates of patients with different margin features were 83.33% (slick margin), 79.73% (lobulation sign), and 39.47% (short burr). The 5-year survival rates of patients with normal, halo, vessel convergence, bronchial transection, and vascular bundle thickening were 84.38%, 72.73%, 71.79%, 52.00%, and 47.06%, respectively. The 5-year survival rates of patients with normal and pleura thickening/indentation were 81.93% and 39.02%. Univariate analysis demonstrated that tumor node metastasis staging, tumor margin, tumor periphery, and pleural invasion were related to the prognosis of stage I NSCLC patients. Cox regression analysis confirmed that T2a stage, pleura thickening/indentation were independent risk factors for poor prognosis of stage I NSCLC. In conclusion, our findings indicate that T2a stage, pleura thickening/indentation might be prognostic factors in stage I NSCLC.

Prognostic value of microRNA-10b overexpression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of nonsmall-cell lung cancer patients.

We examined microRNA (miRNA)-10b expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients for its clinical value. A group of 74 patients confirmed with NSCLC were recruited as case group and 52 healthy volunteers as control group. PBMCs were isolated from all subjects, and miRNA-10b expression level in these cells was measured by reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The correlation between miRNA-10b expression levels and the clinical and pathological characteristics of NSCLC was obtained. The miRNA-10b expression level in NSCLS patients is markedly higher than control subjects (P < 0.01). Analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve estimated the peak diagnostic sensitivity of miRNA-10b at 86.5 % and specificity at 76.9 %. NSCLC patients were divided into high expression group (64 patients) and low expression group (10 patients). Further analysis showed that miRNA-10b expression levels in PBMCs correlated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and TNM classification (all P < 0.05). The 5-year survival rate in high expression group was significantly lower than low expression group (P = 0.017). Multivariate analysis by Cox regression model showed that high miRNA-10b expression, age >60 years, lymph node and distant metastases, and stage III-IV carcinoma were risk factors for poor prognosis in NSCLC patients (all P < 0.05). MiRNA-10b expression levels in PBMCs can distinguish NSCLC patients from cancer-free subjects with a high sensitivity and specificity, suggesting that miRNA-10b expression in PBMCs is a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker in NSCLC.

[Morphological characteristics and gene mapping of a novel bent pedicel branch (bpb1) mutant in rice].

Rice pedicels are tightly associated with the yield of grain. In the present study, a novel and stable pedicel mutant bpb1 (bent pedicel branch 1) was obtained from the wild type "Zhenong 7" after 60Co γ-ray treatment. The mutant had the typical phenotype of bent pedicel branches with multiple abnormal phenotypes, such as longer pedicels, short panicles, and dwarfism. Detail examination using scanning electron microscopy revealed that the pedicel epidermal hairs and stomas in the mutant were smaller than those in the wild type. The epidermal and sclerenchymatous cells were arranged irregularly, and the cells in the bend region of pedicels became smaller and arranged closely. The transverse observation of the mutant pedicel branches showed that the small vascular bundles arranged differently from those of the wild type. Genetic analysis indicated that the abnormal phenotypes were controlled by a single recessive gene. Using the F2 mapping population from the bpb1 mutant crossed with the japonica rice variety "Zhenongda 104", the bpb1 gene was mapped in a 343 kb region between two SSR markers, RM21537 and RM21552, at the long arm of chromosome 7. Because no homologous gene was found in this region until now, bpb1 might be a novel gene related to the pedicel development and growth. This study could be beneficial to future cloning and functional analysis of the bpb1 gene.