Mitoxantrone ameliorates ineffective erythropoiesis in a β-thalassemia intermedia mouse model.

β-thalassemia is a condition characterized by reduced or absent synthesis of β-globin resulting from genetic mutations, leading to expanded and ineffective erythropoiesis. Mitoxantrone has been widely used clinically as an antitumor agent considering its ability to inhibit cell proliferation. However, its therapeutic effect on expanded and ineffective erythropoiesis in β-thalassemia is untested.

SERPINA3, FGA, AGP1, ITIH3 and SAA1 as novel biomarkers for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis diagnosis and activity assessment.

Objective: To identify novel biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of active eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) through data-independent acquisition (DIA) analysis.

Methods: Plasma from 11 EGPA patients and 10 healthy controls (HCs) were analyzed through DIA to identify potential biomarkers. The results were validated in 32 EGPA patients, 24 disease controls (DCs), and 20 HCs using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

A microRNA sponge, LINC02193, promotes neutrophil activation by upregulating ICAM1 and is correlated with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Objective: To investigate the pathogenic role and underlying mechanisms of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV).

Methods: RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was applied to screen the expression profile of lncRNAs in peripheral leukocytes from five AAV patients and five healthy controls (HC). Candidate lncRNAs were preliminarily verified in peripheral leukocytes from 46 AAV patients and 35 HC by qRT-PCR.

The role of plateletcrit in Takayasu arteritis: A potential biomarker for disease activity and 6-month treatment response.

Objectives: To determine the role of plateletcrit as a potential biomarker for disease activity and treatment response in Takayasu arteritis (TAK).

Methods: Totally, 215 newly diagnosed TAK patients were consecutively enrolled. Demographic data, clinical manifestations, laboratory and imaging examinations, and treatment strategy were recorded at baseline and at each visit during the 6-month treatment period.

Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Reveals Peripheral T Helper Cells Promoting the Development of IgG4-Related Disease by Enhancing B Cell Activation and Differentiation.

Abnormal B cell differentiation plays a critical role in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD), but the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. We investigated the cell landscape from three IgG4-RD retroperitoneal tissues and three control tissues using single-cell RNA-sequencing. Critical cell type or markers were further validated in the peripheral blood from the patients with IgG4-RD and healthy controls via flow cytometry as well as in the IgG4-RD and control tissue via immunofluorescence staining.

Ferric Single-Site Catalyst Confined in a Zeolite Framework for Propane Dehydrogenation.

Non-oxidative dehydrogenation of propane is a highly efficient approach for industrial preparation of propene that is commonly catalyzed by noble Pt or toxic Cr catalysts and suffers from coking. In this work, ferric catalyst confined in a zeolite framework was synthesized by a hydrothermal procedure. The isolated Fe in the framework formed distorted tetrahedra, which were beneficial for the selective dehydrogenation of propane and reached over 95 % propene selectivity and over 99 % total olefins selectivity.

High level of serum complement 3 is a risk factor for vascular stenosis progression in TA patients receiving tocilizumab: a prospective observational study.

Background: The IL-6R antibody tocilizumab has been proven effective in treating Takayasu arteritis (TA). However, some patients show silent vascular stenosis progression (VSP) despite treatment with tocilizumab. The aim of the study was to explore the related risk factors of VSP in patients treated with tocilizumab.

LncRNA ITGB2-AS1 promotes cisplatin resistance of non-small cell lung cancer by inhibiting ferroptosis via activating the FOSL2/NAMPT axis.

Cisplatin resistance is a major therapeutic challenge in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Herein, the regulatory role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) ITGB2-AS1 in regulating NSCLC cisplatin resistance was investigated. NSCLC cisplatin resistance cells were constructed using A549 and H1975 cells.

Rational design of a self-assembly promoting fusion domain enhances high molecular weight levan synthesis by levansucrase SacB.

The catalytic product of levansucrase from Bacillus subtilis (SacB) is mainly composed of 10 % high molecular weight levan (HMW, ~2000 kDa) and 90 % low molecular weight levan (LMW, ~7000 Da). In order to achieve efficient production of food hydrocolloid, high molecular weight levan (HMW), with the help of molecular dynamics simulation software, a protein self-assembly element, Dex-GBD, was found and fused with the C-terminus of SacB to construct a novel fusion enzyme, SacB-GBD. The product distribution of SacB-GBD was reversed compared with SacB, and the proportion of HMW in the total polysaccharide was significantly increased to >95 %.

Heme oxygenase 1 in erythropoiesis: an important regulator beyond catalyzing heme catabolism.

Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), encoded by the HMOX-1 gene, is the main heme oxygenase that catalyzes the degradation of heme into iron, carbon monoxide, and biliverdin. HMOX-1 gene expression is stimulated by oxidative stress and regulated at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. After translation, subcellular location and protein stability of HO-1 are also altered by different extracellular and intracellular stimuli.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of leflunomide versus placebo combined with basic prednisone therapy in patients with active disease phase of Takayasu arteritis: study protocol for a randomized, double-blinded controlled trial (Takayasu arteritis clinical trial in China: TACTIC).

Background: Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is an immune-induced granulomatous vasculitis that occurs primarily in young Asian women. Our previous cohort studies have indicated that leflunomide (LEF), which can lead to rapid induction and might be a promising alternative treatment for TAK.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy and safety of LEF placebo combined with prednisone for active TAK in a Chinese population.

Single-cell profiling of ineffective erythropoiesis in a mouse model of β-thalassaemia intermedia.

Beta-thalassaemia is an inherited haemoglobin disorder characterised by ineffective erythropoiesis (IE). The detailed pathogenesis of IE remains unclear. In this study, we used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to examine IE in Th3/+ β-thalassaemic mice.

Associations of microcirculation damage on nailfold capillaroscopy with supra-aortic severe ischemic events in patients with Takayasu arteritis.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and nailfold microcirculation and explore the associations with severe ischemic events (SIEs) in Takayasu arteritis (TA) with supra-aortic involvement.

Methods: Eighty-one patients with supra-aortic artery involvement who underwent nailfold video-capillaroscopy (NVC) of their hands were enrolled from the East China TA (ECTA) cohort between August and December 2021. Clinical features and capillaroscopy variables associated with supra-aortic SIEs were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.

PET vascular activity score for predicting new angiographic lesions in patients with Takayasu arteritis: a Chinese cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the ability of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT to predict new lesions in Takayasu arteritis.

Methods: Eighty-two Chinese patients with newly diagnosed Takayasu arteritis were recruited. Their clinical characteristics, serum biomarkers and imaging results were recorded at baseline and every visit.

A novel molecular mechanism of vascular fibrosis in Takayasu arteritis: macrophage-derived GPNMB promoting adventitial fibroblast extracellular matrix production in the aorta.

Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a chronic large vessel disease characterized by aortic fibrotic thickening, which was mainly mediated by activation of aorta adventitial fibroblasts (AAFs). Our previous genetic study demonstrated that TAK-associated locus IL6 rs2069837 regulated glycoprotein non-metastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB) expression. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the pathogenic role of GPNMB in TAK.

Circular RNA expression profiles and identification of hsa_circ_0028381 as a potential biomarker of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis.

Objectives: Accumulating evidence indicates the role of dysregulated circRNAs in autoimmune diseases. In this study, we investigated their role in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) by analysing the expression profiles of circRNA in plasma of AAV patients and exploring their potential as biomarkers of AAV.

Methods: RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to identify the plasma circRNA and mRNA expression profiles from five AAV patients and five healthy controls (HCs).

Risk factors of aortic regurgitation progression in Chinese patients with Takayasu's arteritis: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To elucidate the 3-year follow-up outcomes and risk factors associated with aortic regurgitation progression in Takayasu's arteritis (TAK).

Methods: This study was a prospective cohort study conducted among 77 patients with TAK at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, China. All the participants were followed up and assessed with echocardiography for 3 years, and the baseline characteristics and dynamic changes in the aortic valve were recorded and investigated.

Biomarker Changes and Molecular Signatures Associated with Takayasu Arteritis Following Treatment with Glucocorticoids and Tofacitinib.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze biomarker changes in patients with TAK following treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs) and tofacitinib (TOF).

Methods: Seventeen patients from a prospective TAK cohort treated with GCs and TOF and 12 healthy individuals were recruited. TAK associated cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and MMPs were analyzed in these patients before and after GCs and TOF treatment, and healthy controls.

Uncovering BTB and CNC Homology1 (BACH1) as a Novel Cancer Therapeutic Target.

BTB and CNC homology1 (BACH1), working as a transcriptional factor, is demonstrated to function on the regulation of epigenetic modifications by complex regulatory networks. Although BACH1 is reported as an oncogene, the overall analysis of its role remains lacking. In this study, we uncovered the capacity of BACH1 as a new pan-cancer therapeutic target.

The addition of oral iron improves chemotherapy-induced anemia in patients receiving erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.

Although many studies have shown that supplementation with iron and erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA) is frequently used for managing chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA), optimal combination therapy using these agents together to ameliorate anemia is not well characterized. To assess the effects of ESA combined with oral or intravenous (IV) iron on relieving CIA, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for articles. Data collected in the articles were meta-analyzed using RevMan 5.

Clinical and pathological predictors of relapse in IgG4-related disease.

Objectives: In IgG4-related disease, the relationship between pathological findings and relapse has not been well established. This study aimed to identify the clinical and pathological predictors of disease relapse in IgG4-RD.

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed IgG4-RD (n = 71) were enrolled between January 2011 and April 2020; all cases were pathologically confirmed.