AIM: To investigate the role of PPAR ? or ? ligands in regulating the expression of extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer(EMMPRIN).METHODS: THP-1 monocytes were induced into macrophages and foam cells in vitro then interfered with clofibrate and pioglitazone.The cells and supernatant were collected after 24 h,respectively.EMMPRIN gene and its protein were assessed by real-time PCR and Western blotting in different interferences.The concentration of matrix metalloproteinases(MMP-9) was measured with ELISA method and the activity of MMP-9 was detected with gelatin zymography.RESULTS: Two known PPAR ? or ? ligands,colfibrate and pioglitzaone,were found,both of which inhibited EMMPRIN expression in macrophages and foam cells.The inhibition was correspondent to the secretion and activity of MMP-9 simultaneously.CONCLUSION: Both PPAR ? and ? ligands inhibit EMMPRIN expression,which may account for their effect on inhibition of MMPs.

AIM: Although the evidence indicates that extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) is closely associated with matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression in tumor cells, tumor invasion and metastasis, no direct proof that EMMPRIN regulates MMPs in monocytes, especially in the atherogenic milieu is observed. Here we tested this hypothesis by examining MMP-9 expression in macrophages/foam cells and monocyte migration through EMMPRIN knockdown by siRNA. METHODS: The methods of qPCR and Western blotting were used to detect the suppressions of EMMPRIN mRNA and protein expression in macrophages and foam cells transfected with EMMPRIN-specific siRNA. The protein expression of MMP-9 in macrophages and foam cells was also determined. Monocyte migration after EMMPRIN knockdown was observed by a Transwell assay. RESULTS: EMMPRIN knockdown by siRNA markedly abolished the MMP-9 expression by 50% and 40% in macrophages and foam cells, respectively. Migration induced by chemotactic factor MCP-1 and VEGF was significantly attenuated (P<0.05) in monocytes treated with EMMPRIN-siRNA. CONCLUSION: The protein expression and secretion of MMP-9 are down-regulated by EMMPRIN knockdown during monocyte differentiation into macrophages and foam cells. Moreover, EMMPRIN siRNA treatment also prevents monocyte migration. Thus, EMMPRIN plays a key regulatory role for MMP activity and monocyte migration, making it a potential target for pharmacological intervention of atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND:Establishing a nomogram prediction model for postoperative pulmonary infection in hip fractures and taking early intervention measures is crucial for improving patients'quality of life and reducing medical costs. OBJECTIVE:To construct a nomogram risk prediction model of postoperative pulmonary infection in elderly patients with hip fracture,and provide theoretical basis for feasible prevention and early intervention. METHODS:Case data of 305 elderly patients with hip fractures who underwent surgical treatment at Wuxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine between January and October 2020(training set)were retrospectively analyzed.Using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test,receiver operating characteristic curve was utilized to analyze the diagnostic predictive efficacy of independent risk factors and joint models for postoperative pulmonary infections.Tools glmnet,pROC,and rms in R Studio software were applied to construct a nomogram model for predicting the risk of postoperative pulmonary infection in elderly patients with hip fractures,and calibration curves were further drawn to verify the predictive ability of the nomogram model.Receiver operating characteristic curves,calibration curves,and decision curves were analyzed for 133 elderly patients with hip fractures(validation set)receiving surgery at the same hospital from November 2022 to March 2023 to further predict the predictive ability of the nomogram model. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The postoperative pulmonary infection rate in elderly patients with hip fractures in this group was 9.18%(28/305).(2)Single factor and multivariate analysis,as well as forest plots,showed that preoperative hospitalization days,leukocyte count,hypersensitive C-reactive protein,and serum sodium levels were independent risk factors(P<0.05).The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed good fit(χ2=4.57,P=0.803).Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted on the independent risk factors and their joint models mentioned above,and the differentiation of each independent risk factor and joint model was good,with statistical significance(P<0.05).(3)The graphical calibration method,C-index,and decision curve were used to validate the nomogram prediction model.The predicted calibration curve was located between the standard curve and the acceptable line,and the predicted risk of the nomogram model was consistent with the actual risk.(4)The validation set used receiver operating characteristic curve,graphic calibration method,and decision curve to validate the prediction model.The results showed good consistency with clinical practice,indicating that the model had a good fit.The nomogram risk prediction model constructed for postoperative pulmonary infection in elderly patients with hip fractures has good predictive performance.The use of the nomogram risk prediction model can screen high-risk populations and provide a theoretical basis for early intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association of preoperative C-reactive protein (CRP) level with postoperative complications in elderly patients undergoing surgeries for femoral neck fracture. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 147 elderly patients (median age 80 years; 73.5% of the patients were female) undergoing surgeries for femoral neck fracture. According to preoperative CRP level, the patients were divided into normal CRP (< 10 mg/L) group (31 patients), mild elevation group (CRP level of 10-40 mg/L; 51 patients), and severe elevation group (CRP ≥40 mg/L; 65 patients). The association of preoperative CRP levels with postoperative complications was analyzed. RESULTS: Preoperative CRP level was significantly correlated with the occurrence of postoperative complications (=0.003). Compared with that in normal CRP group, the unadjusted ORs in mild and severe elevation groups were 0.97 (95%: 0.29-3.27) and 3.04 (95%: 1.03-8.98) with the adjusted ORs of 1.13 (95%: 0.33-3.90) and 4.89 (95%: 1.47-16.26), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative CRP level has a dose-response relationship with complications in elderly patients following arthroplasty for femoral neck fracture, and the patients with a preoperative CRP level ≥40 mg/L are exposed to a significantly increased risk for postoperative complications by 3.89 folds compared with the patients with a normal CRP level.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; C-Reactive Protein ; Female ; Femoral Neck Fractures ; Humans ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies

Objective:In order to explore the impact of corona virus disease 2019(COVID-19)on the hospitalization of children with bronchiolitis and to improve clinicians′ understanding of the characteristics of bronchiolitis during the COVID-19 epidemic.Methods:This was a multicenter clinical study, and the data have been collected from 23 children′s medical centers in China.All the clinical data were retrospectively collected from children with bronchiolitis who were hospitalized at each study center from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021.The results included gender, age at hospitalization, length of stay, respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) test results, severity rating, ICU treatment, and the total number of children hospitalized with respiratory tract infection during the same period.The clinical data of children with bronchiolitis in 2019 before COVID-19 epidemic and in 2020、2021 during COVID-19 epidemic were statistically analyzed and compared.Results:According to a summary of data provided by 23 children′s medical centers, there were 4 909 cases of bronchiolitis in 2019, 2 654 cases in 2020, and 3 500 cases in 2021.Compared with 2019, the number of bronchiolitis cases decreased by 45.94% in 2020 and 28.70% in 2021.In 2019, 2020 and 2021, there were no significant differences in gender ratio, age, and duration of hospitalization.Compared with 2019, the ratio of bronchiolitis to the total number of hospitalizations for respiratory tract infection decreased significantly in 2020 and 2021( χ2=12.762, P<0.05; χ2=84.845, P<0.05).The proportion of moderate to severe bronchiolitis cases in both 2020 and 2021 was lower than that in 2019, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=4.054, P<0.05; χ2=8.109, P<0.05).There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of bronchiolitis cases requiring ICU treatment between 2019, 2020, and 2021 ( χ2=1.914, P>0.05).In 2019, a total of 52.60%(2 582/4 909) of children with bronchiolitis underwent RSV pathogen testing, and among them, there were 708 cases with RSV positive, accounting for 28.00%.In 2020, 54.14%(1 437/2 654) of children with bronchiolitis underwent RSV pathogen testing, and there were 403 cases with RSV positive, accounting for 28.04%.In 2021, 66.80%(2 238/3 500) of children with bronchiolitis underwent RSV pathogen testing, and there were 935 cases with RSV positive, accounting for 41.78%.Compared with 2019 and 2020, the RSV positive rate in 2021 showed a significant increase( χ2=99.673, P<0.05; χ2=71.292, P<0.05). Conclusion:During the COVID-19 epidemic, the implementation of epidemic prevention and control measures reduced the hospitalization rate and severity of bronchiolitis, but did not reduce the positive rate of RSV detection.

Objective: To observe the effects of abnormal body temperature and the area under temperature curve on the prognosis of patients with septic shock. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Patients with septic shock admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Wuxi People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from September 2013 to June 2019 were enrolled. Data were obtained from the hospital case database, including the gender, age, infection source, the length of ICU stay, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, 21-day prognosis; within the first 24 hours and throughout the period in ICU, the maximum temperature (24 h Tmax, Tmax), lowest temperature (24 h Tmin, Tmin), and the temperature range (24 h Tmax-min, Tmax-min) were aggregated. The area under temperature curve when body temperature was higher than T (A _> T), or lower than T (A_< T), and area section between T1 and T2 (A_T1-T2) was calculated respectively. Patients were divided into survival group and death group according to 21-day prognosis. Binary Logistic regression was used to analyze the effect of the above temperature indices on the prognosis. Results: 635 septic shock patients were enrolled in the study. 476 patients were survived and 159 died within 21 days. Compared with the survival group, the age, SOFA score were higher in the death group, while the length of ICU stay was shorter. There was no significant difference in gender or infection source between two groups. After adjusting for gender, age, the length of ICU stay and SOFA score, binary Logistic regression analysis showed that the increase of Tmax, decrease of Tmin, and increase of Tmax-min were risk factors for 21-day mortality [Tmax: odds ratio (OR) = 2.959, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.620-5.398, P < 0.001; Tmin: OR = 0.329, 95%CI was 0.140-0.790, P = 0.012; Tmax-min: OR = 3.258, 95%CI was 1.840-5.471, P < 0.001], while 24 h Tmax, 24 h Tmin and 24 h Tmax-min were not related to prognosis. A_{< 36.0 ℃} (OR = 1.335, 95%CI was 1.102-1.745, P = 0.014), and A_{> 38.0 ℃} (OR = 1.041, 95%CI was 1.019-1.077, P = 0.001) showed positive correlation with 21-day mortality. When the T level was set at 38.0-40.0 ℃, for every 1 ℃×hour increase in A _> T, the 21-day relative risk of death increased by 4.1%-83.2%. Conclusion When the body temperature of patients with septic shock is lower than 36.0 ℃, or higher than 38.0 ℃, the 21-day relative risk of death rose with the increase of the magnitude and duration of abnormal body temperature.