The most important biomarker associated with coagulation and inflammation among COVID-19 patients.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) induced by SARS-Cov-2 can be related to coagulopathy. Also, the infection-induced inflammatory changes are found in patients with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC). The lack of previous immunity to COVID-19 has caused infection of a large number of patients worldwide and unpredictability regarding the management of the complications that appear in the course of this viral illness.

Inflammatory Markers Related to Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Atherosclerosis: Implications for Disease Prediction and Prospective Therapeutics.

Several lines of evidence have linked a dysregulated inflammatory setting to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, which is a form of chronic vascular inflammation. Various inflammatory biomarkers have been associated with inflammation and are recognized as potential tools to monitor the progression of atherosclerosis. A well-studied inflammatory marker in the context of cardiovascular diseases is C-reactive protein (CRP) or, more accurately, highly sensitive-CRP (hs-CRP), which has been established as an inflammatory biomarker for atherosclerotic events.

Overexpression of periostin predicts poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer.

The periostin protein, encoded by the POSTN gene, is a component of the extracellular matrix, which is expressed by fibroblasts and has been observed in a variety of human malignancies. The present study aimed to detect the expression of periostin in the tissues of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and benign lung tumors, and to correlate the results with the clinicopathological data of the subjects, in order to evaluate periostin as a potential prognostic marker. In total, 49 NSCLC patients and 6 benign lung tumors were included in this study.

[Glial cell and glaucomatous optic neuropathy].

Glaucomatous optic neuropathy is a chronic disease accompanied by visual field loss, cupping of optic nerve head, and apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). The mechanism of glaucomatous optic neuropathy is unknown but glial cells play an important role in glaucomatous optic nerve damage and the repair process. We review the role of glial cells in the remodeling of optic nerve head, apoptosis of RGCs and immune reactions in glaucoma.

[Effect of heparin upon inflammatory reaction of endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in rat].

Objective: To investigate the effects of heparin upon inflammatory reaction and associated mechanism of endotoxin-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rat.

Methods: Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three equal groups namely: ALI group, heparin treatment group and normal control group. The ALI rats were induced by injecting endotoxin intravenously and sacrificed at 4 h after model establishment.

Antithrombin-III without concomitant heparin improves endotoxin-induced acute lung injury rats by inhibiting the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase.

Background: Antithrombin-III (AT-III), the major inhibitor of thrombin in plasma, also has anti-inflammation property and might have positive effect on sepsis. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of AT-III on inflammatory reaction and pulmonary protection in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury (ALI) rat.

Methods: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned equally to normal control group, ALI group, AT-III treatment group, AT-III + heparin treatment group, and heparin treatment group.

[Pathological changes of retinal glial cells in a rat chronic ocular hypertension model].

Objective: To study the pathological changes of retinal glial cells and its effect on retinal ganglion cells (RGC) damage in a rat chronic ocular hypertension model.

Methods: Seventy-two of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with chronic elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) by ligating two superior or inferior episcleral veins were used in this study. Twelve normal rats served as control.

[Expression of glutamate receptor 2 in retinal ganglion cells in the eyes with chronic elevated intraocular pressure: experiment with rats].

Objective: To investigate the mechanism of selective damage of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in glaucoma.

Methods: (1) The right eyes of 12 SD rats underwent ligation of 2 episcleral veins and subconjunctival injection 5-fluoro-uracilum so as to establish chronic elevated intraocular pressure glaucoma rat model. Six SD rats were used as controls.