Silencing of long non-coding RNA H19 downregulates CTCF to protect against atherosclerosis by upregulating PKD1 expression in ApoE knockout mice.

This study aimed to explore the interactions among long non-coding RNA H19, transcriptional factor CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) and polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1), and to investigate its potentially regulatory effect on vulnerable plaque formation and angiogenesis of atherosclerosis. We established an atherosclerosis mouse model in ApoE knockout mice, followed by gain- and loss-of-function approaches. H19 was upregulated in aortic tissues of atherosclerosis mice, but silencing of H19 significantly inhibited atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque formation and intraplaque angiogenesis, accompanied by a downregulated expression of MMP-2, VEGF, and p53 and an upregulated expression of TIMP-1.

Compliance to self-monitoring of blood glucose among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and its influential factors: a real-world cross-sectional study based on the Tencent TDF-I blood glucose monitoring platform.

Background: To investigate the compliance to self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its influential factors.

Methods: The real-world SMBG use over 90 days among 415 T2DM patients were recorded by using a blood glucose monitoring platform (TDF-I, Tencent, China). Clinical features including age, sex, duration of diabetes, insulin treatment or not, and use of oral antidiabetic drugs were collected.

Effects of losartan on the mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells and improvement of endothelial function.

Through investigating the effect of the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) losartan on the number of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and blood flow-mediated endothelium-dependent function (FMD) in the peripheral blood of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), we found that FMD was improved and the number of circulating EPCs increased in the ARB treatment group (P <0.05). In addition, the increase in the number of EPCs was positively correlated with the improvement of FMD in the ARB treatment group (r = 0.