Using signal-to-cutoff ratios of HIV screening assay to predict HIV infection.

Background: The sensitivity of HIV screening assays often leads to a high rate of false-positive results, requiring retests and confirmatory tests. This study aimed to analyze the capability of signal-to-cutoff (S/CO) ratios of HIV screening assay to predict HIV infection.

Methods: A retrospective study on the HIV screening-positive population was performed at Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University, the correlation between HIV screening assay S/CO ratios and HIV infection was assessed, and plotted Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to establish the optimal cutoff value for predicting HIV infection.

Significantly elevated serum human epididymis protein-4 in chronic kidney disease patients without ovarian cancer: A large-scale retrospective study.

Backgrounds: Human epididymis protein-4 (HE-4) is a commonly used biomarker for diagnosing ovarian cancer. Elevated HE-4 has also been observed in various benign conditions including chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, generalizability and statistical power of previous studies have been limited by small sample sizes.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective study that included 80 pathologically confirmed ovarian cancer patients, 641 CKD patients, and 2661 healthy controls.

Assessment of anti-nucleosome antibody (ANuA) isotypes for the diagnosis and prediction of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis activity.

Our study aims to investigate the serum levels of anti-nucleosome antibody (ANuA) isotypes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and clarify ANuA isotypes that may diagnose and predict SLE. We detected anti-nucleosome antibodies (ANuA) in the serum from 120 patients with SLE, 99 patients suffering from other autoimmune diseases (OAD), and 50 healthy controls by performing IgG-, IgA-, and IgM-specific ELISAs. The serum levels of total anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA IgG), ANuA IgG subclasses (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4), anti-dsDNA antibodies, and the avidities of ANA IgG were also analysed using ELISAs.

Analysis of the characteristics of patients with false-positive HIV screening assay results.

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with false-positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening test results and provide a theoretical basis to interpret the results of HIV screening tests.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the incidence of false-positive results for HIV screening tests and characterized false-positive reactions during HIV screening in a large-scale study at Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University.

Results: False-positive HIV test results occurred for 264 of 275,263 (0.

Chemokine CXCL1 as a potential marker of disease activity in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objectives: The chemokine CXCL1, known as growth-related oncogene α (GRO-α), is a potent chemoattractant and regulator of neutrophils. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the regulatory response of CXCL1 in the serum of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the active stage of disease and to assess whether it was implicated in the pathogenesis/inflammatory process in lupus.

Methods: CXCL1 serum concentrations were examined in 90 SLE patients, 56 other autoimmune diseases (OADs) patients and 100 healthy controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent methodology.

MiR-26a-5p Targets WNT5A to Protect Cardiomyocytes from Injury Due to Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Through the Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway.

This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of miR-26a-5p on cardiomyocyte injury induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R).After construction of an H/R model in rat cardiomyocyte H9c2 cells, miR-26a-5p in the cells was interfered with (cells transfected with miR-26a-5p inhibitor) or overexpressed (cells transfected with a miR-26a-5p mimics). The viability and the apoptosis rate of cells in each group were detected using CCK-8 and flow cytometry; the relationship between miR-26a-5p and WNT5A was verified by a dual-luciferase reporter assay; the expression of miR-26a-5p, WNT5A, cleavedcaspase3 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins in each group was detected using qRT-PCR or Western blot; LDH release, SOD, and GSH-PX activities in each group were detected by kit.

Methylation of CYP1A1 and VKORC1 promoter associated with stable dosage of warfarin in Chinese patients.

Objective: To investigate the association between DNA methylation and the stable warfarin dose through genome-wide DNA methylation analysis and pyrosequencing assay.

Method: This study included 161 patients and genome-wide DNA methylation analysis was used to screen potential warfarin dose-associated CpGs through Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation 450 K BeadChip; then, the pyrosequencing assay was used to further validate the association between the stable warfarin dose and alterations in the methylation of the screened CpGs. GenomeStudio Software and R were used to analyze the differentially methylated CpGs.

MicroRNA-296-5p inhibits cell proliferation by targeting HMGA1 in colorectal cancer.

An increasing body of evidence indicates the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) in the initiation and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). miR-296-5p was recently identified as a tumor suppressor in a variety of human cancer types; however, its function in CRC remains largely unknown. The present study demonstrated that the expression of miR-296-5p was significantly downregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines.

Performance Evaluation of a Newly Developed Chemiluminescent Assay Kit for Detection of Neuron-Specific Eno.

Background: To evaluate the performance of a chemiluminescence detection reagent for Neuron-specific enolase (NSE).

Methods: Based on the "Guiding principles on performance analysis of diagnostic, reagents in vitro" and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Guidelines, performance of the CLIA NSE kit was evaluated, including the detection limit, linear range, reportable range, accuracy, precision, cross reactivity, interference factors, Hook effect, and method comparison.

Results: The detection limit of the reagent was 0.

Evaluation of a newly developed quantitative determination kit for tumor marker CA15-3 with chemiluminescent assay.

Background: Tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) is used as a biomarker to aid to diagnose and monitor the prognosis of breast cancer patients. A new quantitative determination kit for CA15-3 with chemiluminescent assay was developed by Xiamen InnoDx Biotech Co., Ltd, China.

Diagnostic utility of the Elecsys anti-CCP assay in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: The automatic anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies assay offered great advantages over traditional methods in terms of improved precision, reliability, technical simplicity, short turnaround time and high-speed throughput. In this study, we evaluated the main technical performance and diagnostic accuracy of the first automatic anti-CCP assay approved in China.

Methods: The study comprised 106 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, 203 non-RA rheumatic disease controls and 46 healthy persons.