[Summary] The epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process in which epithelial cells are converted into cells with mesenchymal phenotype in specified physiological and pathological conditions. EM T plays a critical role in proper embryonic development ,tissue regeneration ,cancer metastasis and organ fibrosis. EM T can be divided into three subtypes (Ⅰ ,II and Ⅲ ) based on different biological context ,of which type II EMT contribute importantly to the development of organ fibrosis.Renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF) is an important pathological feature of diabetic nephropathy (DN). The understanding of molecular mechanisms of this process tubular EM T may provide a clue to intervene the development of DN through suppressing EM T and reversing RIF.

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of EGFR gene mutations among NSCLC patients in south of China and analyze the correlation between mutations and clinical features.Methods Specimens of lung cancer tissues were collected from 185 NSCIC patients in our hospital.DNA was extracted from specimens.Exon 18,19,20 and 21 of EGFR gene were amplified by FQ-PCR to be bi-directional sequenced.ResultsEGFR gene mutations in 62 (33.5％) of 185 NSCLC patients was identified in carcinoma tissues,of which,2cases,41cases,5 cases and 14 cases respectively located at exon 18,exon 19,exon 20 and exon 21.The mutation of Del L747 → P752 (P753S) ( proportion 8.1％ ),Del E746 → A750 ( proportion 45.1％ ) at exon 19 and L858R ( proportion 22.6％ ) at exon 21 were the predominant mutation in 16 kinds of mutations.Four cases of mutation at exon 19 got the different results in bi-directional sequencing.The silent mutation 2361G→A at exon 20 was observed (28.1％ ).The mutation rate in women was significantly higher than men (46.2％ vs 24.3％,x2 =9.670,P =0.002).Non-smokers had significantly higher mutation rate than smokers (41.4％ vs 17.1％,x2 =7.380,P =0.007) ; Adenocarcinoma patients had significantly higher mutation rate than squamous cell carcinoma (38.3％ vs 6.3％,x2 =6.426,P =0.011).Clinical stage Ⅲ patients had significantly lower mutation ratethan patients with stage Ⅱ orⅣ ( 10.8％ vs 53.8％,x2 =8.026,P =0.003 ;10.8％ vs 41.3％,x2 =9.518,P =0.002).No statistically significance correlation was found between the mutation ratio and age.ConclusionsEGFR gene mutation has a close relationship with females,non-smokers and adenocarcinoma.Most mutations occur in exon 19 and 20 among patients in south of China.

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of renal fibrosis after macrophage depletion in C3-deficient unilateral ureteral obstruction mice. Methods: Renal interstitial fibrosis model was established by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in male C3-deficient mice and age-matched C57BL/6 WT mice (8-12 weeks of age). Mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, including sham operation in wild type group (WT/sham) (n=18), UUO operation in wild type group (WT/UUO) (n=18), sham operation in C3-deficient group (C3KO/sham) (n=18), and UUO operation in C3-deficient group (C3KO/UUO) (n=18). The expression of complement C3 was detected by immunohistochemical staining and renal interstitial macrophages were assessed by immunofluorescence staining. Tubulointerstitial fibrosis was observed by both HE staining and Masson staining after 14 days of UUO. Collagen accumulation and score of tubulointerstitial injury were obtained. Wild type and C3-deficient UUO mice were treated by liposome clodronate in early or late stage respectively and then interstitially infiltrated macrophages and renal fibrosis were analysed. Mice were sacrificed randomly at 3,7,14 days after UUO and obstructed kidneys were collected. Macrophage phenotype was detected by double-labeling immunofluorescence with F4/80 and iNOS for the M1, F4/80 and CD206 for the M2 macrophage subpopulation. iNOS, Arg-1 and CD206 were also detected by western blot. Results: C3 deficient mice exhibited attenuated renal fibrosis, reduced collagen accumulation and tubulointerstitial injury score compared with WT mice (P<0.01). Meanwhile, macrophage depletion in early or late stage of UUO reduced renal fibrosis in WT mice, but had no effect on C3-deficient UUO mice. Decreased accumulation of M1 macrophages and expression of iNOS, increased accumulation of M2 macrophages and expression of Arg-1, CD206 were found in C3 deficient mice compared with WT mice in early stage of UUO (P<0.01). Conclusion Renal fibrosis is not reduced after depletion of macrophages in C3 deficient UUO mice due to the altered macrophage polarization.

RING finger protein 13 (RNF13) is a newly identified E3 ligase reported to be functionally significant in the regulation of cancer development, muscle cell growth, and neuronal development. In this study, the function of RNF13 in cardiotoxin-induced skeletal muscle regeneration was investigated using RNF13-knockout mice. RNF13(-/-) mice exhibited enhanced muscle regeneration-characterized by accelerated satellite cell proliferation-compared with wild-type mice. The expression of RNF13 was remarkably induced in macrophages rather than in the satellite cells of wild-type mice at the very early stage of muscle damage. This result indicated that inflammatory cells are important in RNF13-mediated satellite cell functions. The cytokine levels in skeletal muscles were further analyzed and showed that RNF13(-/-) mice produced greater amounts of various cytokines than wild-type mice. Among these, IL-4 and IL-6 levels significantly increased in RNF13(-/-) mice. The accelerated muscle regeneration phenotype was abrogated by inhibiting IL-4/IL-6 action in RNF13(-/-) mice with blocking antibodies. These results indicate that RNF13 deficiency promotes skeletal muscle regeneration via the effects on satellite cell niche mediated by IL-4 and IL-6.
Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Interleukin-4 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Regeneration ; Satellite Cells, Skeletal Muscle ; metabolism ; pathology ; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases ; deficiency ; metabolism

BACKGROUND: Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is common in critically ill patients and may cause left atrial (LA) pressure elevation. This study aims to explore the prognostic impact of synergistic LA pressure elevation and FMR in patients with shock. METHODS: We retrospectively screened 130 consecutive patients of 175 patients with shock from April 2016 to June 2017. The incidence and impact of FMR and early diastolic transmitral velocity to early mitral annulus diastolic velocity ratio (E/e') ≥ 4 within 6 h of shock on the prognosis of patients were evaluated. Finally, the synergistic effect of FMR and E/e' were assessed by combination, grouping, and trend analyses. RESULTS: Forty-four patients (33.8%) had FMR, and 15 patients (11.5%) had E/e' elevation. A multivariate analysis revealed FMR and E/e' as independent correlated factors for 28-day mortality (P = 0.043 and 0.028, respectively). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed a significant difference in survival between patients with and without FMR (χ2 = 7.672, P = 0.006) and between the E/e' ≥ 14 and E/e' < 14 groups (χ2 = 19.351, P < 0.010). Twenty-eight-day mortality was significantly different among the four groups (χ2 = 30.141, P < 0.010). The risk of 28-day mortality was significantly higher in group 4 (E/e' ≥ 14 with FMR) compared with groups 1 (E/e' < 14 without FMR) and 2 (E/e' < 14 with FMR) (P = 0.001 and 0.046, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with shock can be identified by the presence of FMR. FMR and E/e' are independent risk factors for a poor prognosis in these patients, and prognosis is worst when FMR and E/e' ≥ 14 are present. It may be possible to improve prognosis by reducing LA pressure and E/e'. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03082326.
Humans ; Mitral Valve/diagnostic imaging* ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency/diagnostic imaging* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.