Objective To explore the metabolic characteristics of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and provide evidence for the management of cardiovascular risk factors. Methods One hundred and four RA patients with T2DM and 100 healthy subjects with matched age and sex were the subjects of study. The metabolic parameters of the two groups was compared and the ratio of metabolic abnormalities in RA with T2DM group was analyzed. Comparisons between groups were analyzed by t-test and Chi-square analysis. Results The average duration of RA and T2DM were (8±6) and (10±5) years respectively; 55.8% patients with CRP>10 mg/L and 72.1% patients with ESR>30 mm/1 h. There was no significant difference in body mass index between the two groups [(23.3 ±3.1) kg/m2 vs (23.4 ±2.8) kg/m2, P=0.991]. The systolic blood and diastolic blood pressures of RA patients with T2DM were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in blood uric acid [(0.27 ± 0.11) mmol/L vs (0.27 ±0.12) mmol/L, P=0.957]. There was no significant difference in the levels of total cholesterol (TC) [(4.6 ±1.0) mmol/L vs (4.5 ±0.5) mmol/L, P=0.547], but the levels of triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) [TG (1.4±0.8) mmol/L vs (1.1 ±0.3) mmol/L, t=2.871, P=0.005; HDL-C (1.1 ±0.3) mmol/L vs (1.5 ±0.4) mmol/L, t=-7.064, P<0.01;LDL-C (2.6±0.8) mmol/L vs (2.4±0.4) mmol/L, t=2.003, P=0.047] were significantly different in the two groups. 36.5% patients were with hypertension, 17.3% patients were with high TC, 30.7% patients were with high TG, 26.9% patients were with low HDL-C, and 27.8% patients were with high LDL-C. Conclusion High incidence of hypertension, poor blood sugar control, and lipid metabolism disorders are prominent metabolic disorders in RA patients with T2DM. Clinicians, particularly rheumatologists, need to give adequate attention to these conditions.

Objective To investigate the effects of Dishevelled (DVL) on apoptosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cell line OCI-Ly10, and to explore its possible mechanism. Methods Lentivirus plasmid overexpressing DVL2 was constructed, and after virus was packaged, it was transfected into OCI-Ly10 cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis rate of OCI-Ly10 cells with or without the stimulation by TNF-α recombinant protein. Then the gene expression of anti-apoptotic genes, GADD45β and A20, in NF-κB pathway was detected by RT-PCR. Results The virus was sucessfully transfected into OCL-Ly10 cells which overexpressed DVL2. The apoptosis rate of OCL-Ly10 cells overexpressing DVL2 without the stimulation by TNF-α was increased compared with that of the negative control group [(15.46 ±2.37) % vs. (11.72±3.53)%, P=0.03], the A20 mRNA expression level was decreased compared with that of the negative control group [(0.66 ±0.01) vs. 1, P=0.04], and the relative expression level of GADD45β mRNA was not significantly decreased compared with that of the negative control group [(0.79 ±0.15) vs. 1, P=0.642]. The apoptosis rate of DVL2 overexpression OCI-Ly10 cells stimulated by TNF-α was significantly higher than that of the negative control group treated by TNF-α [(22.78±4.56)%vs. (12.79±2.89)%, P=0.007]. The gene expression of A20 and GADD45β in DVL2 overexpression cells stimulated by TNF-α was significantly increased, however, the magnitude of increase in DVL2 overexpression cells was less than that in the negative control group treated by TNF-α [A20: (3.75 ±0.14) times vs. (6.89 ±0.10) times, P=0.008; GADD45β:(4.750±0.21) times vs. (6.14±0.08) times, P=0.03]. Conclusion DVL can promote the apoptosis of OCI-Ly10 cells, and its mechanism may be related with anti-apoptotic genes that inhibits its downstream via NF-κB pathway.

Objective:This study explored the correlation between Cardiovascular metabolic index (CMI) and hyperuricemia (HUA) in non-obese Chinese population.Methods:73 150 non-obese people who received routine physical examination between January 2014 to December 2017 were included in this cross-sectional study (from Jingjiang People's Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou Aeronautical Sanatorium of Chinese Air Force, and Shanghai Changhai Hospital). The anthropometric indexes, lipid parameters including triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, uric acid, and other clinical parameters were collected, and the CMI values were calculated from the waist-to-body ratio (WHtR). The correlation between CMI and HUA was analyzed by Logistic regression model.Results:Among 39 443 non-obese women, 5 825 patients were HUAs with a prevalence rate of 14.7%; among 33 707 non-obese men, 7 720 were HUAs with a prevalence rate of 22.9%. HUA had no significant association with Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) and WHtR, but only with CMI. The highest quartile of women in CMI was 6.311(5.734, 6.947) and 6.785(6.092, 7.557) in male, P<0.01. Conclusion:CMI is significantly associated with HUA in non-obese Chinese population and is expected to become a new monitoring parameter for the prevention and management of HUA and gout.

Objective To study the expression of dishevelled-2 (DVL2) in rheumatoid arthritis cartilage and its effect on cartilage destruction.Methods Cartilage DVL2 expression in rat models of rheumatoid arthritis (RA),osteoarthritis(OA) and collagen-induced arthritis(CIA) were tested by Western blotting.DVL2 overexpressed lentivirus was transfected into the knee of CIA rats.Primary chondrocytes were extracted from RA patients by knee arthroplasty and transfected with DVL2 overexpressed lentivirus.Gene expression of related inflammation related cytokines was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).Results Compared with knee articular cartilage in OA patients and normal rats,DVL2 protein was highly expressed in knee cartilage of RA patients and CIA rats (P values 0.041 and 0.032,respectively).DVL2 did not significantly affect the destruction of knee cartilage in CIA rats (P=0.885).DVL2 overexpression in chondrocytes enhanced gene expression of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2),inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS),matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2,MMP-3,and MMP-9,which could be more pronounced when tumor necrosis factor alpha was added.Conclusions DVL2 is highly expressed in RA articular cartilage and promotes the expression of inflammatory cytokines and MMP gene in chondrocytes by activating Wnt/β-catenin pathway,which involves in the destruction of articular cartilage in RA.

Objective: To investigate the application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in detection of the rare or difficult-to-cultivate pathogens. Methods: One patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who went through allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) developed symptoms of infection after transplantation. Conventional microbial culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and mNGS combined with biological information analysis were performed with plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples, the anti-infective treatment was adjusted according to the test results, and the efficacy was assessed. Results: No suspected pathogens were detected by microbial culture and PCR in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma samples since the patient developed infection symptoms. However, Legionella pneumophila was analyzed by mNGS in the cerebrospinal fluid specimen on day 23 after allo-HSCT (reads count: 19 655), and it was considered as the principal pathogen after comprehensively evaluating the patient's clinical manifestations and the test results. Then the antimicrobial treatments were adjusted according to the patient's clinical manifestations and laboratory test results, and the number of gene sequences of Legionella pneumophila was monitored by mNGS method. Azithromycin, tigecycline, and other antibiotics effective for Legionella pneumophila were used after detecting this pathogen. A total of 15 mNGS analysis were performed during the 5-month period, and the highest number of Legionella pneumophila sequences monitored in the cerebrospinal fluid was 2 226, the lowest was 253 and eventually turned negative. The clinical symptoms and treatment outcomes were consistent with the mNGS monitoring results. Conclusions The mNGS technology has significant value in detection of the rare and difficult-to-cultivate pathogens. The mNGS technology provides a valuable supplement to microbial culture and PCR methods.