Molecular characterization of alterations in the intestinal microbiota of patients with grade 3 hypertension.

Hypertension has become a major risk factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and kidney disorders. It has been reported that the composition of human gut microbiota is changed during the progression of cardiovascular and kidney diseases. The current study aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the composition of gut microbiota between patients with hypertension and healthy controls.

Eriodictyol inhibits survival and inflammatory responses and promotes apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes through AKT/FOXO1 signaling.

2-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-2,3-dihydrochromen-4-one (eriodictyol), a flavonoid compound, was proved to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiarthritis activities. However, the effects of eriodictyol on the rheumatoid proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammatory response of arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) remain unclear. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the effects of eriodictyol on RA-FLS survival, apoptosis, and inflammatory response, and further explore the potential underlying mechanisms.

Endothelial HNF4α potentiates angiogenic dysfunction via enhancement of vascular endothelial growth factor resistance in T2DM.

Although both hyperprocoagulant status, characterized by elevated thrombin levels, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) resistance, marked by attenuated expression of VEGFR2 (also called FLK1 or KDR), are known to contribute importantly to an increased risk of vascular events in diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM), it remains obscure whether these two biological events regulate angiogenic response in a coordinated manner. We show here that endothelial expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) was significantly upregulated in rodents and humans with T2DM, and HNF4α upregulation by thrombin was dependent on activation of multiple pathways, including protein kinase B, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, p38, oxidative stress, protein kinase C, and AMPK (5'-adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase). Functionally, HNF4α inhibited VEGF-mediated endothelial proliferation and migration, and blunted VEGF-stimulated in vitro angiogenesis, thus rendering endothelial cells unresponsive to established angiogenic VEGF stimulation.

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials on antibiotic treatment for osteomyelitis in diabetes.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic therapy in osteomyelitis treatment among people with diabetes.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, AMED, Web of Science, the WHO trial registry, Cochrane library databases, and ClinicalTrials.gov, in addition to hand-searching, was undertaken in July 2018.

CCN3 and DLL1 co-regulate osteogenic differentiation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts in a Hey1-dependent manner.

Notch signaling pathway is one of the most important pathways to regulate intercellular signal transduction and is crucial in the regulation of bone regeneration. Nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV or CCN3) serves as a non-canonical secreted ligand of Notch signaling pathway and its role in the process of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was undefined. Here we conducted a comprehensive study on this issue.

Correlation between the levels of serum cystatin C and substance P in peripheral blood in diabetes mellitus patients complicated with hypertension.

Correlation between the serum cystatin C and substance P in peripheral blood of diabetes mellitus patients complicated with hypertension was investigated. Diabetes mellitus patients with or without hypertension were selected in No. 215 Hospital of Shaanxi Nuclear Industry from December 2015 to February 2017.

Simultaneous determination of eight components in Angelica sinensis based on UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for quality evaluation.

A method employing ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) for determination of eight components including ferulic acid, senkyunolide A, butylphthalide, ligustilide, butylidenephalide, senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H and levistolide A in Angelica sinensis was established. The separation was carried out using a Waters ACQUITY UHPLC BEH C column with gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid aqueous and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.

A study of the correlation of insulin resistance and leptin with inflammatory factors and vascular endothelial injury in T2DM patients with CHD.

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation of insulin resistance (IR) and leptin with inflammatory factors and vascular endothelial injury in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) complicated with coronary heart disease (CHD) was explored. One hundred and fifty normal patients (normal group), 150 patients with pure T2DM (T2DM group) and 150 patients with T2DM complicated with coronary heart disease (T2DM + CHD group) were selected from Xi'an No. 5 Hospital.

Platelet-rich plasma shows beneficial effects for patients with knee osteoarthritis by suppressing inflammatory factors.

Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that may develop due ageing, obesity, strain, congenital abnormal joints, joint deformity or trauma. It is caused by many factors, such as degradation of articular cartilage injury, joint edge and subchondral bone hyperplasia of reactivity. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous blood sample that contains highly concentrated platelets and multiple cell growth factors.

Evaluation of the association of and with rheumatoid arthritis and disease activity and severity in Han Chinese.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common complex autoimmune disorder. and were identified recently as susceptibility genes for RA risk in Korean and European populations, but the genetic aetiology and pathogenesis of RA have not been fully elucidated. We designed a two-stage case-control study including 916 RA patients and 2,266 unrelated healthy controls to identify common genetic variants in and that predispose Han Chinese individuals to RA.

Remission assessment of rheumatoid arthritis in daily practice in China: a cross-sectional observational study.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the remission rate and describe the current use of medication in a large cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under routine clinical care in China. RA patients were recruited from 40 large teaching hospitals nationwide in China. Data regarding RA disease activity, medication treatment, and adverse events were recorded using a standardized clinical data questionnaire.

Protodioscin ameliorates oxidative stress, inflammation and histology outcome in Complete Freund's adjuvant induced arthritis rats.

Protective effect of protodioscin or methyl protodioscin against inflammation had been reported in various inflammation diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of protodioscin against Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis rats. Rats randomly divided into model groups were injected with CFA, companied with different dose of protodioscin (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight).

Network Analysis of Se-and Zn-related Proteins in the Serum Proteomics Expression Profile of the Endemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy Keshan Disease.

Keshan disease (KD) is an endemic cardiomyopathy with high mortality. Selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are closely related to KD. The molecular mechanism of KD pathogenesis is still unclear.

Association of Common Variants in TGFA with Increased Risk of Knee Osteoarthritis Susceptibility.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex degenerative joint disorder, which has contributions from both environmental and genetic factors. Several recent publications have established the connection between hip OA susceptibility and genetic markers within the TGFA gene, however, the relationship of these markers with knee OA has not been elucidated. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the potential linkage between common variants of the TGFA gene with knee OA in a large sample of Han Chinese individuals.

Genome-wide DNA methylation profile analysis identifies differentially methylated loci associated with ankylosis spondylitis.

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic rheumatic and autoimmune disease. Little is known about the potential role of DNA methylation in the pathogenesis of AS. This study was undertaken to explore the potential role of DNA methylation in the genetic mechanism of AS.

Suppression of SIRT6 by miR-33a facilitates tumor growth of glioma through apoptosis and oxidative stress resistance.

microRNA-33a (miR-33a) belongs to the miR-33 family that is implicated in the progression of various types of cancers. Aberrant expression of miR-33a has been detected in several human cancers, and has been shown to regulate the migration and invasion as well as proliferation and apoptosis of tumor cells. However, the clinical significance and precise mechanisms underlying the dysfunction of miR-33a in glioma have not been well investigated in previous studies.

Meta-analysis of programmed cell death 1 polymorphisms with systemic lupus erythematosus risk.

The association of polymorphisms in programmed cell death 1 (PDCD1) gene with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) risk is inconsistent across different studies. This meta-analysis is aimed to provide reliable evidence to the association of five common PDCD1 polymorphisms (PD1.1, PD1.

Siglec-9 is upregulated in rheumatoid arthritis and suppresses collagen-induced arthritis through reciprocal regulation of Th17-/Treg-cell differentiation.

Sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin-9 (Siglec-9) is a novel sialic acid-binding member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is broadly expressed on immune cells, which can inhibit both innate and adaptive immune responses through immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs. However, the exact role of Siglec-9 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unknown. In this study, we determined soluble Siglec-9 (sSiglec-9) levels in the serum and synovial fluid of patients with RA and evaluated the relation between sSiglec-9 levels and clinical factors.

Long telomere length predicts poor clinical outcome in esophageal cancer patients.

Background: Abnormal telomere length is widely reported in various human cancers, and it is considered to be an important hallmark of cancer. However, there is remarkably little consensus on the value of telomere length in the prognostic evaluation of esophageal cancers. Here, we attempted to determine the association of variable telomere length with clinical outcome of esophageal cancer patients.

IL-25 attenuates rheumatoid arthritis through suppression of Th17 immune responses in an IL-13-dependent manner.

IL-25, a new member of the IL-17 cytokine family, is involved in type 2 immunity initiation and has been associated with the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, its exact role remains unclear. Here, we aimed to analyse IL-25 expression in the serum and synovial fluid of RA patients and evaluated the correlations between serum IL-25 levels, clinical and laboratory values and inflammation cytokines.

Increased expression of EHF contributes to thyroid tumorigenesis through transcriptionally regulating HER2 and HER3.

E26 transformation-specific (ETS) transcription factor EHF plays a tumor suppressor role in prostate cancer and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), whereas it is overexpressed and may act as an oncogene in ovarian and mammary cancers. However, its biological role in thyroid cancer remains totally unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the biological functions of EHF and its potential as a therapeutic target in thyroid cancer.

miRNA-449a is downregulated in osteosarcoma and promotes cell apoptosis by targeting BCL2.

Accumulating evidence reveals that miR-449a is expressed at a low level in several tumors and cancer cell lines, and acts as a tumor suppressor in several cancers. However, its role in osteosarcoma (OS) is not well understood. In the present study, we found that miR-449a was significantly downregulated in both OS tissues and cell lines.