Fibrinogen-to-Albumin Ratio and Long-Term Mortality in Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Different Glucose Metabolism Status.

Background: Abnormal glucose metabolism is present in most patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Inflammation is considered to be a common risk factor for CAD and diabetes. Fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR), a novel inflammation biomarker, has been proposed as a predictor for cardiovascular disease.

Non-negligible ultrasonographic findings in sarcoid myositis: A case series and literature review.

Sarcoid myositis is a rare and often debilitating extrapulmonary manifestation of sarcoidosis that can be difficult to recognize without a prior sarcoidosis diagnosis. Sarcoidosis with muscle nodules or masses as the first symptom is the least common form, occurring in approximately 0.5%-2.

Dual-functional DNA nanogels for anticancer drug delivery.

DNA hydrogels with unique sequence programmability on nucleic acid framework manifest remarkable attributes, such as high payload capacities, biocompatibility and biosafety. The availability of DNA nanogels with multimodal functionalities remains limited due to the absence of facile gelation methods applicable at the nanometer scale. Here, we developed a one-step assembly of DNA dendrimers into nanogels (DNG) with couple hundred nanometers size.

Association Between Systemic Immune Inflammation Level and Poor Prognosis Across Different Glucose Metabolism Status in Coronary Artery Disease Patients.

Background: Blood glucose levels significantly affect the clinical prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and systemic immune inflammation is a common risk factor for both CAD and diabetes. However, the relationship between immune inflammation levels and poor prognosis in patients with CAD with different glucose metabolic statuses remains unclear.

Methods: Between January 2007 and December 2020, we recruited 84,645 patients with CAD.

Elevated systemic immune inflammation level increases the risk of total and cause-specific mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease: a large multi-center longitudinal study.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is inherently a complex immune-inflammatory condition, and heightened inflammation and immune dysfunction are closely related to an increased risk of death. However, evidence regarding the relationship between immune-inflammatory levels and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality among patients with CKD is scarce.

Methods: Patients with non-dialysis dependent CKD undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) were included from five Chinese tertiary hospitals.

MDA5 expression is associated with TGF-β-induced fibrosis: potential mechanism of interstitial lung disease in anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the high-resolution CT (HRCT) characteristics of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibody positive dermatomyositis-associated interstitial lung disease (anti-MDA5 DM-ILD), and to clarify the underlying mechanisms of the clinical phenomenon.

Methods: Clinical data and HRCT patterns were compared between anti-MDA5 DM-ILD (n = 32) and antisynthetase syndrome-associated ILD (ASS-ILD) (n = 29). RNA sequencing of whole-blood samples from the two groups, and in vitro experiments using human embryonic lung fibroblasts (HELFs) were conducted to explore the potential mechanisms of the clinical findings.

Association of IGF1R polymorphisms (rs1546713) with susceptibility to age-related cataract in a Han Chinese population.

Aim: To explore the susceptible association between the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and age-related cataract (ARC), and investigate the underlying mechanisms in human lens epithelium (HLE) cells.

Methods: Totally 1190 unrelated participants, comprising 690 ARC patients and 500 healthy individuals in Han Chinese population were recruited and genotyped for target SNP. The -test was used to detect genotypic distribution between the patient and control groups and the logistic regression was performed to adjust the age and gender.

Three novel variants identified within ECM-related genes in Chinese Han keratoconus patients.

As the primary indication for corneal transplantation, the pathogenesis of keratoconus remains elusive. Aiming to identify whether any mutation from extracellular-matrix (ECM)-related genes contributes to the patients with sporadic cases of keratoconus (KC) from Chinese Han population, one hundred and fifty-three participants in total were enrolled in our study, including fifty-three KC patients and one hundred healthy controls. Mutational analysis of three ECM-related genes (LOX, COL5A1 and TIMP3) with next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing was performed.

Regional differences in the global burden of age-related macular degeneration.

Background: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness. This study aims to analyze regional differences on the global burden of AMD and help direct related policy making.

Methods: Disability-adjusted life years (DALY) data were collected from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2017 to estimate the AMD burden.

Scanning and transmission electron microscopy study of anterior lens epithelium in presenile cataract.

Purpose: To study the structure of lens epithelial cells (LECs) in the anterior lens epithelium of presenile cataract and to further explore the possible reasons for presenile cataract development.

Methods: The anterior lens capsules (aLCs) of patients with presenile cataracts and patients with ordinary age-related cataracts were obtained from routine cataract surgery, and the 5-5.5 mm circles of the central aLC were cut in half and prepared for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Socioeconomic disparities in the global burden of glaucoma: an analysis of trends from 1990 to 2016.

Purpose: To assess the global burden of glaucoma by year, age, sex, regions, socioeconomic development, and mean years of schooling (MYS) by using disability-adjusted life year (DALY), then to explore the health inequality with socioeconomic status in glaucoma.

Methods: Global, national, and regional DALY data of glaucoma by year, age, and sex were extracted from the Global Health Data Exchange. Human development index (HDI) and national MYS in 2015 were obtained from the Human Development Report (HDR) 2016.

Increased levels of Gab1 and Gab2 adaptor proteins skew interleukin-4 (IL-4) signaling toward M2 macrophage-driven pulmonary fibrosis in mice.

M2-polarized macrophages, also known as alternatively activated macrophages, have long been associated with pulmonary fibrosis; however, the mechanism has not been fully defined. Gab1 and Gab2 proteins belong to the Gab family of adaptors and are integral components of the signal specificity in response to various extracellular stimuli. In this report, we found that levels of both Gab1 and Gab2 were elevated in M2-polarized macrophages isolated from bleomycin-induced fibrotic lungs.