Functional Enrichment Analysis Identifying Regulatory Information Associated with Human Fracture.

Dozens of loci associated with fracture have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, most of these variants are located in the noncoding regions including introns, long terminal repeats, and intergenic regions. Although combining regulation information helps to identify the causal SNPs and interpret the involvement of these variants in the etiology of human fracture, regulation information which was truly associated with fracture was unknown. A novel functional enrichment method GARFIELD (GWAS Analysis of Regulatory of Functional Information Enrichment with LD correction) was applied to identify fracture-associated regulation information, including transcript factor binding sites, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), chromatin states, enhancer, promoter, dyadic, super enhancer and Epigenome marks. Fracture SNPs were significantly enriched in exon (Bonferroni correction, p value < 7.14 × 10-3) at two GWAS p value thresholds through GARFIELD. High level of fold-enrichment was observed in super enhancer of monocyte and the enhancer of chondrocyte (Bonferroni correction, p value < 4.45 × 10-3). eQTLs of 44 tissues/cells and 10 transcription factors (TFs) were identified to be associated with human fracture. These results provide new insight into the etiology of human fracture, which might increase the identification of the causal SNPs through the fine-mapping study combined with functional annotation, as well as polygenic risk score.

[Advantage analysis of flow-through cell method in quality evaluation of Chinese patent medicine: a case study of Danshen Tablets].

To explore the quality consistency evaluation method for multi-component traditional Chinese medicine and establish a dissolution evaluation method suitable for the characteristics of multi-component Chinese patent medicine, this study discussed the characteristics and advantages of the flow-through cell method in the dissolution evaluation of Chinese patent medicine by comparing the impact of the small cup method and the flow-through cell method on the dissolution behavior of water-soluble and lipid-soluble major active components of Danshen Tablets. Dissolution tests were performed using the small cup method as described in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the newly introduced flow-through cell method(closed-loop method) with water solution containing 0.5% SDS as dissolution medium. Cumulative dissolution curves of the water-soluble component salvianolic acid B and the lipid-soluble component tanshinone Ⅱ_A in Danshen Tablets were plotted, and fitting and similarity analysis of the dissolution models was conducted to identify the characteristics and advantages of the flow-through cell method. For the small cup method, 150 mL of water containing 0.5% SDS was used as the dissolution medium, with a rotation speed of 75 r·min~(-1) and a temperature of(37±0.5) ℃, and 3 mL of samples were taken at 15, 30 min, 1, 2, and 4 h, with fresh dissolution medium added at the same temperature and volume. For the flow-through cell method, a closed-loop system was used. Danshen Tablets were placed in the flow-through cell with approximately 6.7 g of glass beads, and 150 mL of water containing 0.5% SDS was used as the dissolution medium. The flow rate was set at 20 mL·min~(-1), and the temperature and sampling were the same as the small cup method. The results showed that compared with the small cup method, the flow-through cell method had stronger discriminative power and higher sensitivity in distinguishing the dissolution behavior of the two components, and could better reflect the differences in formulation quality, especially for water-insoluble lipid-soluble components. Given that there were no essential differences in the in vitro release kinetics between the two methods, the flow-through cell method could not only replace the traditional small cup method but also better guide the formulation development and identify quality issues of formulations.

[Degradation kinetics of ß-nicotinamide mononucleotide based on reliable HPLC quantitative method].

To explore the stability characteristics of ß-nicotinamide mononucleotide(NMN) and provide data support for NMN production, preparation, and related product development, this study established a simple HPLC content determination method for NMN in simple substrate and investigated the degradation behavior, degradation products, and degradation kinetics of NMN under various chemical, physical, and biological conditions. The HPLC method employed a Welch Xtimate AQ-C_(18) column(4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 µm), a detection wavelength of 266 nm, a column temperature of 30 ℃, a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min~(-1), an injection volume of 5 µL, and a mobile phase consisting of methanol(A) and a 10 mmol·L~(-1) ammonium formate aqueous solution(B) with a gradient elution(0-6.7 min, 0-4% A; 6.7-13 min, 4%-18% A; 13-14.2 min, 18% A; 14.2-15 min, 18%-0 A; 15-22 min, 0 A). This method provided good separation between NMN and potential impurities and degradation products, and had a wide linear range, short analysis time, good durability, high accuracy, an average sample recovery rate of 98.71%, and an RSD of 1.2%. The instrument precision had an RSD of 0.26%, and the linearity within the examined range was excellent(R~2≥0.999 9). This method can be applied for NMN content determination in simple substrate. The degradation process of NMN in aqueous solution followed apparent first-order kinetics, with the degradation rate primarily influenced by high temperature and pH. NMN was more stable in low-temperature, neutral, or weakly acidic/alkaline environments. Strong acids or strong alkalis could accelerate its degradation, and its degradation rate was less affected by pepsin and trypsin. In an aqueous solution at room temperature, it followed the kinetic equation lg C_t=0.005 7t + 4.817 2, with t_(0.9) and t_(1/2) values of 95.58, 860.26 h, respectively. The results suggest that pH and temperature are the main factors affecting the stability of NMN in aqueous solution, and low temperature, moisture protection, and a weakly acidic environment are more conducive to the storage and application of NMN and its products.

Identification of novel pleiotropic gene for bone mineral density and lean mass using the cFDR method.

Bone mineral density (BMD) and whole-body lean mass (WBLM) are two important phenotypes of osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Previous studies have shown that BMD and lean mass were phenotypically and genetically correlated. To identify the novel common genetic factors shared between BMD and WBLM, we performed the conditional false discovery rate (cFDR) analysis using summary data of the genome-wide association study of femoral neck BMD (n = 53,236) and WBLM (n = 38,292) from the Genetic Factors for Osteoporosis Consortium (GEFOS). We identified eight pleiotropic Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) (PLCL1 rs11684176 and rs2880389, JAZF1 rs198, ADAMTSL3 rs10906982, RFTN2/MARS2 rs7340470, SH3GL3 rs1896797, ST7L rs10776755, ANKRD44/SF3B1 rs11888760) significantly associated with femoral neck BMD and WBLM (ccFDR < 0.05). Bayesian fine-mapping analysis showed that rs11888760, rs198, and rs1896797 were the possible functional variants in the ANKRD44/SF3B1, JAZF1i, and SH3GL3 loci, respectively. Functional annotation suggested that rs11888760 was likely to comprise a DNA regulatory element and linked to the expression of RFTN2 and PLCL1. PLCL1 showed differential expression in laryngeal posterior cricoarytenoid muscle between rats of 6 months and 30 months of age. Our findings, together with PLCL1's potential functional relevance to bone and skeletal muscle function, suggested that rs11888760 was the possible pleiotropic functional variants appearing to coregulate both bone and muscle metabolism through regulating the expression of PLCL1. The findings enhanced our knowledge of genetic associations between BMD and lean mass and provide a rationale for subsequent functional studies of the implicated genes in the pathophysiology of diseases, such as osteoporosis and sarcopenia.

Changes in empathy of nurses from 2009 to 2018: A cross-temporal meta-analysis.

The empathy of nurses is associated with self-care and self-compassion, which may enhance the quality of the nurse-patient relationship. Yet, research on the empathy of nursing staff has mostly used cross-sectional designs, which cannot capture the degree of empathy changes over time. To explore changes in empathy among nurses in China from 2009 to 2018. A cross-temporal meta-analysis was used to examine continuous changes in the empathy of nurses. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used to conduct this cross-temporal meta-analysis of 57 samples of nurses in China who completed the three subscales (perspective-taking, compassionate care, and walking in the patient's shoes) of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professionals from 2009 to 2018 (N = 13,825). This meta-analysis was conducted following good scientific practice in every phase, and approval by ethics committees was not required according to the local regulations in China. The findings suggest that the nurses' mean total scores of empathy and perspective-taking on the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professionals declined significantly over time, but the trend in compassionate care and walking in the patient's shoes was not significant. No significant changes were found in the overall empathy or the three dimensions of empathy of the nurses in the Eastern region across time, whereas a significant decline was found on the total empathy and perspective-taking scores of the nurses in other regions (i.e. the Central and Western regions). The mean total score of empathy and walking in the patient's shoes of the nurses who worked in the intensive care units showed a significant decrease over time. Furthermore, these findings indicate that the empathy of Chinese nurses has decreased steadily over the past 10 years. High levels of empathy can effectively reduce healthcare risks, errors, and disputes among nursing staff and enhance patient satisfaction and well-being.

Genome-wide association study of lncRNA polymorphisms with bone mineral density.

Recent studies suggested that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) were widely transcribed in the genome, but their potential roles in the genetic complexity of human disorders required further exploration. The purpose of the present study was to explore genetic polymorphisms of lncRNAs associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and its potential value. Based on the lncRNASNP database, 55,906 lncSNPs were selected to conduct a genome-wide association study meta-analysis among 11,140 individuals of seven independent studies for BMDs at femoral neck (FN), lumbar spine, and total hip (HIP). Promising results were replicated in Genetic Factors for Osteoporosis Consortium (GEFOS Sequencing, n = 32,965). We found two lncRNA loci that were significantly associated with BMD. MEF2C antisense RNA 1 (MEF2C-AS1) located at 5q14.3 was significantly associated with FN-BMD after Bonferroni correction, and the strongest association signal was detected at rs6894139 (P = 3.03 × 10-9 ). LOC100506136 rs6465531 located at 7q21.3 showed significant association with HIP-BMD (P = 7.43 × 10-7 ). MEF2C-AS1 rs6894139 was replicated in GEFOS Sequencing with P-value of 1.43 × 10-23 . Our results illustrated the important role of polymorphisms in lncRNAs in determining variations of BMD and provided justification and evidence for subsequent functional studies.

Inferring causal relationships between phenotypes using summary statistics from genome-wide association studies.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified numerous genetic variants associated with diverse complex phenotypes and diseases, and provided tremendous opportunities for further analyses using summary association statistics. Recently, Pickrell et al. developed a robust method for causal inference using independent putative causal SNPs. However, this method may fail to infer the causal relationship between two phenotypes when only a limited number of independent putative causal SNPs identified. Here, we extended Pickrell's method to make it more applicable for the general situations. We extended the causal inference method by replacing the putative causal SNPs with the lead SNPs (the set of the most significant SNPs in each independent locus) and tested the performance of our extended method using both simulation and empirical data. Simulations suggested that when the same number of genetic variants is used, our extended method had similar distribution of test statistic under the null model as well as comparable power under the causal model compared with the original method by Pickrell et al. But in practice, our extended method would generally be more powerful because the number of independent lead SNPs was often larger than the number of independent putative causal SNPs. And including more SNPs, on the other hand, would not cause more false positives. By applying our extended method to summary statistics from GWAS for blood metabolites and femoral neck bone mineral density (FN-BMD), we successfully identified ten blood metabolites that may causally influence FN-BMD. We extended a causal inference method for inferring putative causal relationship between two phenotypes using summary statistics from GWAS, and identified a number of potential causal metabolites for FN-BMD, which may provide novel insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying osteoporosis.

Identification of a novel FGFRL1 MicroRNA target site polymorphism for bone mineral density in meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are critical post-transcriptional regulators. Based on a previous genome-wide association (GWA) scan, we conducted a polymorphism in microRNA target sites (poly-miRTS)-centric multistage meta-analysis for lumbar spine (LS)-, total hip (HIP)- and femoral neck (FN)-bone mineral density (BMD). In stage I, 41 102 poly-miRTSs were meta-analyzed in seven cohorts with a genome-wide significance (GWS) α = 0.05/41 102 = 1.22 × 10(-6). By applying α = 5 × 10(-5) (suggestive significance), 11 poly-miRTSs were selected, with FGFRL1 rs4647940 and PRR5 rs3213550 as top signals for FN-BMD (P = 7.67 × 10(-6) and 1.58 × 10(-5)) in gender-combined sample. In stage II in silico replication (two cohorts), FGFRL1 rs4647940 was the only signal marginally replicated for FN-BMD (P = 5.08 × 10(-3)) at α = 0.10/11 = 9.09 × 10(-3). PRR5 rs3213550 was also selected based on biological significance. In stage III de novo genotyping replication (two cohorts), FGFRL1 rs4647940 was the only signal significantly replicated for FN-BMD (P = 7.55 × 10(-6)) at α = 0.05/2 = 0.025 in gender-combined sample. Aggregating three stages, FGFRL1 rs4647940 was the single stage I-discovered and stages II- and III-replicated signal attaining GWS for FN-BMD (P = 8.87 × 10(-12)). Dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that FGFRL1 3' untranslated region harboring rs4647940 appears to be hsa-miR-140-5p's target site. In a zebrafish microinjection experiment, dre-miR-140-5p is shown to exert a dramatic impact on craniofacial skeleton formation. Taken together, we provided functional evidence for a novel FGFRL1 poly-miRTS rs4647940 in a previously known 4p16.3 locus, and experimental and clinical genetics studies have shown both FGFRL1 and hsa-miR-140-5p are important for bone formation.

Bivariate genome-wide association analyses identified genetic pleiotropic effects for bone mineral density and alcohol drinking in Caucasians.

Several studies indicated bone mineral density (BMD) and alcohol intake might share common genetic factors. The study aimed to explore potential SNPs/genes related to both phenotypes in US Caucasians at the genome-wide level. A bivariate genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed in 2069 unrelated participants. Regular drinking was graded as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, representing drinking alcohol never, less than once, once or twice, three to six times, seven to ten times, or more than ten times per week respectively. Hip, spine, and whole body BMDs were measured. The bivariate GWAS was conducted on the basis of a bivariate linear regression model. Sex-stratified association analyses were performed in the male and female subgroups. In males, the most significant association signal was detected in SNP rs685395 in DYNC2H1 with bivariate spine BMD and alcohol drinking (P = 1.94 × 10-8). SNP rs685395 and five other SNPs, rs657752, rs614902, rs682851, rs626330, and rs689295, located in the same haplotype block in DYNC2H1 were the top ten most significant SNPs in the bivariate GWAS in males. Additionally, two SNPs in GRIK4 in males and three SNPs in OPRM1 in females were suggestively associated with BMDs (of the hip, spine, and whole body) and alcohol drinking. Nine SNPs in IL1RN were only suggestively associated with female whole body BMD and alcohol drinking. Our study indicated that DYNC2H1 may contribute to the genetic mechanisms of both spine BMD and alcohol drinking in male Caucasians. Moreover, our study suggested potential pleiotropic roles of OPRM1 and IL1RN in females and GRIK4 in males underlying variation of both BMD and alcohol drinking.

Impact of Intraoperative Blood Pressure Control and Temporary Parent Artery Blocking on Prognosis in Cerebral Aneurysms Surgery.

Objective In cerebral aneurysm clipping and embolization, blood pressure control and temporary parent artery blocking are common methods to prevent aneurysm rupture. Their influence on the prognosis is uncertain. In this study, we try to find out the association between methods above and prognostic indicators.Methods We held a retrospective analysis on patients' medical records of cerebral aneurysms surgical clipping and endovascular coiling , and recorded gender, age, diagnosis, Hunt-Hess grade, Glasgow coma scale score, treatment methods, a history of hypertension, preoperative systolic blood pressure, with or without controlled hypotension, systolic blood pressure difference before and after controlled hypotension, with or without temporary artery blocking, with or without hypertension after treated aneurysm, prognostic indicators including mortality after 1 month, intensive care unit (ICU) stay time of survivors, discharged Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score. Prognostic indicators were regarded as dependent variable, all the factors were regarded as independent variable, and the strength analysis of influence factors on prognostic indicators was made by binary logistic regression.Results Total cases were 165, including 68 males and 97 females, with an average age of 56 (12-85) years. The mortality after 1 month was 10.9% (18 cases). The ICU stay time of survivors was 7.35 (0-67) days. GOS score at discharge was 1-3 in 40 (24.2%) patients and 4-5 in 125 (75.8%) patients. Systolic blood pressure difference before and after controlled hypotension was an independent factor influencing mortality (t=2.273, P=0.024), and the greater the difference was, the higher the mortality would be. Timely hypertension after aneurysm treated was an independent factor affecting ICU stay time of survivors and patients with hypertension had shorter ICU stay time (χ2=10.017, P=0.001). Blood pressure control (χ2=0.088, P=0.767) and temporary blocking (χ2=1.307, P=0.253) did not show significant influence on GOS score at discharge.Conclusions Timely controlled hypertension after aneurysm clipping and embolization can significantly shorten the stay time in ICU. The degree of controlled hypotension associates with postoperative mortality, the greater systolic blood pressure difference before and after antihypertensive treatment is, the higher the mortality will be.

Polymorphism of stromal cell-derived factor-1 selectively upregulates gene expression and is associated with increased susceptibility to coronary artery disease.

Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) plays critical roles in vascular development and hematopoiesis. Here, we investigated the function of SDF-1 rs1801157G/A polymorphism in various immune cells and examined its association with susceptibility to coronary artery disease (CAD). Protein and mRNA levels of SDF-1 were tested in peripheral CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cells, monocytes, and natural killer (NK) T cells from healthy donors with different genotypes of rs1801157G/A polymorphism. Prevalence of the polymorphism was compared between CAD patients and healthy controls. Data revealed that SDF-1 mRNA and protein were detectable in CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, monocytes and NK T cells. Interestingly, both protein level and mRNA level of SDF-1 were significantly increased in the monocytes with rs1801157AA genotype, whereas the same phenomenon was not observed in the other three cell types. Blockage of CD14 completely inhibited the upregulation of SDF-1 in the monocytes with rs1801157AA genotype. Association analysis showed that frequencies of the rs1801157AA genotype and A allele were significantly higher in CAD cases than in controls (odds ratio [OR]=2.28, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-3.29, p<0.0001, and OR=1.46, 95% CI, 1.21-3.73, p<0.0001, respectively). Also, prevalence of rs1801157AA genotype was further increased in cases with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (OR=1.65, 95% CI, 1.04-2.56, p=0.028). Our data suggest a novel pathway for regulating SDF-1 and a new risk factor for CAD.

Genome wide association study: searching for genes underlying body mass index in the Chinese.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is becoming a worldwide health problem. The genome wide association (GWA) study particularly for body mass index (BMI) has not been successfully conducted in the Chinese. In order to identify novel genes for BMI variation in the Chinese, an initial GWA study and a follow up replication study were performed. METHODS: Affymetrix 500K SNPs were genotyped for initial GWA of 597 Northern Chinese. After quality control, 281,533 SNPs were included in the association analysis. Three SNPs were genotyped in a Southern Chinese replication sample containing 2 955 Chinese Han subjects. Association analyses were performed by Plink software. RESULTS: Eight SNPs were significantly associated with BMI variation after false discovery rate (FDR) correction (P=5.45×10⁻7-7.26×10⁻6, FDR q=0.033-0.048). Two adjacent SNPs (rs4432245 & rs711906) in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 (EIF2AK4) gene were significantly associated with BMI (P=6.38×10⁻6 & 4.39×10⁻6, FDR q=0.048). In the follow-up replication study, we confirmed the associations between BMI and rs4432245, rs711906 in the EIF2AKE gene (P=0.03 & 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests novel mechanisms for BMI, where EIF2AK4 has exerted a profound effect on the synthesis and storage of triglycerides and may impact on overall energy homeostasis associated with obesity. The minor allele frequencies for the two SNPs in the EIF2AK4 gene have marked ethnic differences between Caucasians and the Chinese. The association of the EIF2AK4 gene with BMI is suggested to be 'ethnic specific' in the Chinese.

ALDH2 is associated to alcohol dependence and is the major genetic determinant of "daily maximum drinks" in a GWAS study of an isolated rural Chinese sample.

Alcohol dependence (AD) is a moderately heritable phenotype with a small number of known risk genes mapped via linkage or candidate gene studies. We considered 313 males from among 595 members of documented, extended pedigrees in which AD segregates collected in Northern Hunan Province, China. A joint analysis of both males and females could not be performed as the difference in alcohol consumption variance was too large. Genome-wide association analyses were performed for approximately 300,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Significant associations found in the ALDH2 region for AD (minimum P = 4.73 × 10(-8)) and two AD-related phenotypes: flushing response (minimum P = 4.75 × 10(-26)) and maximum drinks in a 24-hr period (minimum P = 1.54 × 10(-16)). Association of previous candidate SNP, rs10774610 in CCDC63, was confirmed but resulted from linkage disequilibrium with ALDH2. ALDH2 is strongly associated with flushing response, AD, and maximum drinks in males, with nonsynonymous SNP rs671 explaining 29.2%, 7.9%, and 22.9% of phenotypic variation, respectively, in this sample. When rs671 was considered as a candidate SNP in females, it explained 23.6% of the variation in flushing response, but alcohol consumption rates were too low among females-despite familial enrichment for AD-for an adequate test of association for either AD or maximum drinks. These results support a mediating effect of aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency on alcohol consumption in males and a secondary, culturally mediated limitation on alcohol consumption by females that should be appropriately modeled in future studies of alcohol consumption in populations where this may be a factor.

Novel QTL at chromosome 6p22 for alcohol consumption: Implications for the genetic liability of alcohol use disorders.

Linkage studies of alcoholism have implicated several chromosome regions, leading to the successful identification of susceptibility genes, including ADH4 and GABRA2 on chromosome 4. Quantitative endophenotypes that are potentially closer to gene action than clinical endpoints offer a means of obtaining more refined linkage signals of genes that predispose alcohol use disorders (AUD). In this study we examine a self-reported measure of the maximum number of drinks consumed in a 24-hr period (abbreviated Max Drinks), a significantly heritable phenotype (h(2) = 0.32 ± 0.05; P = 4.61 × 10(-14)) with a strong genetic correlation with AUD (ρg = 0.99 ± 0.13) for the San Antonio Family Study (n = 1,203). Genome-wide SNPs were analyzed using variance components linkage methods in the program SOLAR, revealing a novel, genome-wide significant QTL (LOD = 4.17; P = 5.85 × 10(-6)) for Max Drinks at chromosome 6p22.3, a region with a number of compelling candidate genes implicated in neuronal function and psychiatric illness. Joint analysis of Max Drinks and AUD status shows that the QTL has a significant non-zero effect on diagnosis (P = 4.04 × 10(-3)), accounting for 8.6% of the total variation. Significant SNP associations for Max Drinks were also identified at the linkage region, including one, rs7761213 (P = 2.14 × 10(-4)), obtained for an independent sample of Chinese families. Thus, our study identifies a potential risk locus for AUD at 6p22.3, with significant pleiotropic effects on the heaviness of alcohol consumption that may not be population specific.

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells toxicity and allergy effects: In vivo assessment.

OBJECTIVE: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) hold significant promise across various clinical applications. Therefore, regulatory requirements necessitate a thorough investigation of the hUCMSCs safety before clinical trials and potential allergic reactions after transplantation. METHODS: Abnormal toxicity test employed mice and guinea pigs dosed daily at 0.5×106 cells and 5×106 cells, respectively for 7 days. Acute toxicity test employed low, medium, and high doses of hUCMSCs injected into mice once, followed by observations for 23 days. In systemic allergy test, guinea pigs received low and high dose of hUCMSCs, with sensitization and excitation stages at day 14 and 21, respectively. RESULTS: The abnormal toxicity test of hUCMSC injections revealed no abnormal reactions over a seven-day observation period, indicating the safety of this administration route. In acute toxicity studies, the high-dose hUCMSCs group resulted in fatalities due to pulmonary embolism. Conversely, the low-dose group exhibited no toxic reactions or deaths. The maximum tolerated dose was determined to be >2×107 cells/kg. Systemic active allergy test showed that high doses of hUCMSC intravenous injections did not induce allergic reactions. CONCLUSION: This research affirms hUCMSC injections meet safety standards for clinical cell therapy, emphasizing their safe and promising clinical utility.

Aurantio­obtusin regulates lipogenesis and ferroptosis of liver cancer cells through inhibiting SCD1 and sensitizing RSL3.

Ferroptosis, characterized by iron­mediated non­apoptotic cell death and alterations in lipid redox metabolism, has emerged as a critical process implicated in various cellular functions, including cancer. Aurantio­obtusin (AO), a bioactive compound derived from Cassiae semen (the dried mature seeds of Cassie obtusifolia L. or Cassia toral L.), has anti­hyperlipidemic and antioxidant properties; however, to the best of our knowledge, the effect of AO on liver cancer cells remains unclear. The Cell Counting Kit­8, EdU staining and migration assays were employed to assess the anti­liver cancer activity of AO. Intracellular levels of glutathione peroxidase 4 protein and lipid peroxidation were measured as indicators of ferroptotic status. Immunohistochemical analyses, bioinformatics analyses and western blotting were conducted to evaluate the potential of stearoyl­CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) in combination with ferroptosis inducers for the personalized treatment of liver cancer. The present study revealed that AO significantly inhibited the proliferation of liver cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, AO inhibited AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, suppressed sterol regulatory element­binding protein 1 (SREBP1) expression, and downregulated fatty acid synthase expression, thereby inhibiting de novo fatty acid synthesis. Further investigations demonstrated that AO suppressed glutathione peroxidase 4 protein expression through the nuclear factor erythroid 2­related factor 2/heme oxygenase­1 pathway, induced ferroptosis in liver cancer cells, and simultaneously inhibited lipogenesis by suppressing SCD1 expression through the AKT/mTOR/SREBP1 pathway. Consequently, this increased the sensitivity of liver cancer cells to the ferroptosis inducer RSL3. Additionally, the enhanced effects of AO and RSL3, which resulted in significant tumor suppression, were confirmed in a xenograft mouse model. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that AO induced ferroptosis, downregulated the expression of SCD1 and enhanced the sensitivity of liver cancer cells to the ferroptosis inducer RSL3. The synergistic use of AO and a ferroptosis inducer may have promising therapeutic effects in liver cancer cells.

Mendelian randomization and transcriptome analysis identified immune-related biomarkers for osteoarthritis.

Background: The immune microenvironment assumes a significant role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). However, the current biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of OA are not satisfactory. Our study aims to identify new OA immune-related biomarkers to direct the prevention and treatment of OA using multi-omics data. Methods: The discovery dataset integrated the GSE89408 and GSE143514 datasets to identify biomarkers that were significantly associated with the OA immune microenvironment through multiple machine learning methods and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). The identified signature genes were confirmed using two independent validation datasets. We also performed a two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) study to generate causal relationships between biomarkers and OA using OA genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data (cases n = 24,955, controls n = 378,169). Inverse-variance weighting (IVW) method was used as the main method of causal estimates. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness and reliability of the IVW results. Results: Three signature genes (FCER1G, HLA-DMB, and HHLA-DPA1) associated with the OA immune microenvironment were identified as having good diagnostic performances, which can be used as biomarkers. MR results showed increased levels of FCER1G (OR = 1.118, 95% CI 1.031-1.212, P = 0.041), HLA-DMB (OR = 1.057, 95% CI 1.045 -1.069, P = 1.11E-21) and HLA-DPA1 (OR = 1.030, 95% CI 1.005-1.056, P = 0.017) were causally and positively associated with the risk of developing OA. Conclusion: The present study identified the 3 potential immune-related biomarkers for OA, providing new perspectives for the prevention and treatment of OA. The MR study provides genetic support for the causal effects of the 3 biomarkers with OA and may provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms leading to the development of OA.

Death-related factors of systemic lupus erythematosus patients associated with the course of disease in Chinese populations: multicenter and retrospective study of 1,958 inpatients.

Despite the improved survival rate among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, there are many factors associated with the mortality of SLE. In the current study, death-related factors of patients associated with course of disease were surveyed. Retrospective study was used. Mortalities among these three groups (group A, B and C, the course of disease was ≤ 5 years, 5-10 years and > 10 years, respectively) were calculated and compared. Various factors related to mortality were analyzed. Male SLE patients died relatively more than female patients. The total mortality was 8.5 %. The mortalities were significant difference in group A, B and C which were 9.4, 4.8 and 8.9 %, respectively. The mortalities of group A and group C were significantly higher than that of group B, but there was no significant difference between mortalities of group A and group C. The most common death-related factor was infection, followed by involved disorders in renal, brain, multisystem, heart, etc. The mortalities resulted from neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE), pulmonary infection, involved digestive system and hematological system were significantly different between three groups. There was no difference between mortalities of group A and group C associated with pulmonary infection and NPSLE. Patients in group C died more than in group A from involved renal, heart, multisystem, etc, while group A had more patients than group C who died of pulmonary infection, involved hematological system. In conclusion, Male SLE patients have worse outcome than female patients. Infection and active SLE are not only contributors to the death of early stage patients, but also to that of later stage patients.

Genome-wide association study identifies ALDH7A1 as a novel susceptibility gene for osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem. It is mainly characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and/or low-trauma osteoporotic fractures (OF), both of which have strong genetic determination. The specific genes influencing these phenotypic traits, however, are largely unknown. Using the Affymetrix 500K array set, we performed a case-control genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 700 elderly Chinese Han subjects (350 with hip OF and 350 healthy matched controls). A follow-up replication study was conducted to validate our major GWAS findings in an independent Chinese sample containing 390 cases with hip OF and 516 controls. We found that a SNP, rs13182402 within the ALDH7A1 gene on chromosome 5q31, was strongly associated with OF with evidence combined GWAS and replication studies (P = 2.08x10(-9), odds ratio = 2.25). In order to explore the target risk factors and potential mechanism underlying hip OF risk, we further examined this candidate SNP's relevance to hip BMD both in Chinese and Caucasian populations involving 9,962 additional subjects. This SNP was confirmed as consistently associated with hip BMD even across ethnic boundaries, in both Chinese and Caucasians (combined P = 6.39x10(-6)), further attesting to its potential effect on osteoporosis. ALDH7A1 degrades and detoxifies acetaldehyde, which inhibits osteoblast proliferation and results in decreased bone formation. Our findings may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.

[Impacts of establishment of chest pain center on the door-to-balloon time and the short-term outcome after primary percutaneous coronary intervention of patients with ST segment elevated myocardial infarction].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of the establishment of chest pain center (CPC) model based on the pre-hospital real-time tele-12-lead electrocardiogram on the door-to-balloon (D-to-B) time and short-term outcome after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) of patients with ST-segment elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A regular CPC was established with pre-hospital transmitted real-time 12-lead electrocardiogram system for pre-hospital diagnosis of STEMI and enabled the STEMI patients to bypass the emergency room and directly treated in the catheter lab to shorten the D-to-B time. The mean D-to-B time, the short-term outcome and medical costs were compared in PPCI patients before (93 cases, group A) and after (149 cases, group B) the establishment of CPC. RESULTS: After the establishment of CPC, the annual mean D-to-B time was significantly shortened [(127 ± 79) min in group A vs.(72 ± 23 )min in group B, P < 0.01], the shortest monthly mean D-to-B time was remarkably reduced in group B than in group A [(56 ± 11) min vs. (73 ± 14) min, P < 0.01]. The annual ratio of D-to-B below 90 minutes was significantly increased from 62.4% (58/93) in group A to 91.9% (137/149) in group B (P < 0.05) . The in-hospital mortality rate tended to be lower and the incidence of heart failure during hospitalization was significantly reduced in group B compared with group A [3.4% (5/149) vs. 6.5% (6/93), P > 0.05; 14.1% (21/149) vs. 24.7% (23/93), P < 0.05]. The length of hospital stay was slightly shortened from (8.98 ± 4.89) days to (7.79 ± 5.43) days (P > 0.05). Corrected mean medical cost went down by 9.4% (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The establishment of CPC may significantly shorten the D-to-B time, improve the short-term outcome and reduce the hospitalization cost for PPCI patients with STEMI.