The effects of mycophenolic acid (MPA) on high glucose-induced expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in mesangial cells (MC) were investigated. Rat MC were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of MPA (1.0 and 10.0 micromol/L) or MPA plus high glucose for 72 h. The expression of TGF-beta and CTGF was detected by Western blot. The results showed that high glucose could induce the expression of TGF-beta and CTGF in MC, but MPA could inhibit this effects. MPA did not influence the expression of TGF-beta and CTGF in normal glucose. It was concluded that MPA might prevent the progression of diabetic nephropathy by inhibiting the expression of TGF-beta and CTGF in MC.

Objective To study the immune regulation of Galectin-9 on the active CD4+T cells and demonstrate the mechanisms.Methods Lymphocytes were harvested from wild-type C57BL/6 mouse,from which na(i)ve CD4+T cells were separated via MACS and then stimulated with anti-CD3 antibody(Ab) (2.5 μg/ml),anti-CD28 Ab(5 μg/ml) and IL-2(100 ng/ml) for 3 days.The active CD4+T cells were divided into 3 groups:Control group,Galectin-9 group and Galectin-9+α-lactose group.We detected the cell proliferation level by CFSE fluorescence intensity and then dynamically observed the cell morphological changes.The proportion of CD4+CD69+T cell,Th1,Th2 and Th17 cell was valued; Meanwhile,ELISA was used to detect the cytokine levels of IFN-γ,IL-4,IL-10,IL-12,IL-17A and TGF-β1 secreted by lymphocytes.Also Western blot was used to observe the changes of T cell differentiation regulatory protein such as T-bet,GATA-3 and ROR-γt.Results Compared with control group and Galectin-9+α-lactose group,in Galectin-9 group,the cell morphology began to change at 2 h.Moreover the proportions of CD4+CD69+ T cell,Th1 and Th17 cells decreased (P＜0.05),but no significant differences in Th2 cells.The level of IFN-γ,IL-12,IL-17A and TGF-β1 from the supernatant decreased (P＜0.05),while Th2-type cytokines IL-4 and IL-1O did not change.In addition,the expressions of T-bet and ROR-γt were significantly down-regulated (P＜0.05).Conclusion Galectin-9 inhibited Th1 and Th17-type immune response,while had no effect on Th2-type immune response.The mechanism of the immune regulation may be related to affect the expression of Th1 and Th17 specific transcription factors at transcription level.

Objective:To explore the influence on the willingness to seek medical treatment by revising the recommendations for prevention and treatment in the medical examination report.Methods:Revising the prevention and treatment recommendations for four diseases, including proteinuria, hyperuricemia, hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency to clearly inform the etiology and prognosis of them. Using a cross-sectional study method, pre-revision prevention and treatment recommendations (version A) and post-revision prevention and treatment recommendations (version B) questionnaires were randomly distributed to medical examiners and at the health management center of our hospital in Wuhan. An ordinal logistic regression model and a binary logistic regression model were used to analyze the correlation of the understanding of diseases and the willingness to seek medical treatment with different connotation of the prevention and treatment recommendations, respectively.Results:A total of 530 valid questionnaires were collected, of which 267 were from version A and 263 from version B. There was no significant difference in the socio-demographic profile of respondents between version A and version B. For the four high risk factors of kidney diseases mentioned above, version B was better than version A in terms of understanding and willingness to seek medical treatment ( P<0.001). The level of understanding OR(95% CI) were 3.691(2.570, 5.301), 2.238(1.511, 3.320), 4.293(6.353, 2.903) and 5.275(7.877, 3.529) respectively. The willingness to seek medical treatment OR(95% CI) were 3.554(2.441, 5.175), 2.850(1.975, 4.114), 5.144(3.457, 7.654) and 4.225(2.868, 6.224) respectively. All the P values were lower than 0.001. Conclusions:Improving the connotation of prevention and treatment recommendations in the medical examination report can help increase the willingness for early medical consultation.

Objective:To analyse the relationship between serum electrolyte concentrations and risk of cardiovascular events in physical examination population.Methods:A cross-sectional study design was applied to survey 8 445 adults whose serum high-sensitivity cardiac tropon Ⅰ (hs-cTnⅠ) and serum electrolytes (chloride, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium) concentrations were measured at the health examination center of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 1, 2018 to February 28, 2022. The risk of cardiovascular events was classified into three levels according to the serum hypersensitive cardiac troponin Ⅰ(hs-cTnⅠ) concentration: low, middle or high risk group. One-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the differences in serum electrolyte concentrations of participants with different risk levels of cardiovascular events. Ordered multi-category logistic regression was performed to analyze the correlation between serum electrolyte levels and the risk of cardiovascular events.Results:The concentration of potassium and magnesium ion in the subjects with low risk of cardiovascular events were both higher than those in the middle and high risk group [potassium ion (4.28±0.29) vs (4.24±0.34), (4.23±0.36) mmol/L, magnesium ion (0.88±0.06) vs (0.87±0.07), (0.87±0.07) mmol/L](both P<0.05), while the concentration of sodium ion was lower [(140.54±1.75) vs (140.88±1.73), (140.81±2.20) mmol/L]( P<0.001); the concentration of phosphorus ion in the high-risk group was lower than those in the middle and low risk groups [(1.04±0.17) vs (1.08±0.16), (1.05±0.15) mmol/L]( P=0.001); no significant difference was found in the concentrations of chloride and calcium ion among the three groups (both P>0.05). Compared to subjects with normal concentrations of electrolyte, the risk level of cardiovascular events in subjects with hypokalemia ( OR=6.96, 95% CI: 3.67-13.10) and hypomagnesemia ( OR=5.00, 95% CI: 1.01-24.50) was higher(both P<0.05). Within the normal range, sodium concentration was positively correlated with the risk of cardiovascular events ( OR=1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.14; P<0.001). Conclusions:The serum sodium, potassium and magnesium concentrations in health examination subjects are correlated with the risk of cardiovascular events. Maintaining the balanced concentration of serum potassium and magnesium, as well as low sodium levels within normal limits may help prevent cardiovascular events.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and arterial stiffness in the physical examination population.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study, the data were collected from adults who received physical examination in the Health Management Center of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from January 2016 to April 2022, all the participants completed the tested for brachial and ankle pulse wave conduction velocity (baPWV) and serum 25(OH)D. The general information, anthropometric metrics and relevant laboratory data were recorded. A total of 41 090 participants were included. According to baPWV, the subjects were divided into arterial stiffness group (baPWV≥1 800 cm/s, n=2 440) and normal group (baPWV<1 800 cm/s, n=38 650). The subjects were categorized into three groups based on serum 25(OH)D level: sufficient group [25(OH)D≥30 μg/L, n=2 830], insufficient group [25(OH)D 20-<30 μg/L, n=11 400] and deficiency group [25(OH)D<20 μg/L, n=26 860]. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between 25(OH)D and arterial stiffness. The dose-response relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and the risk of arterial stiffness was analyzed using restricted cubic spline functions. Results:Of the 41 090 participants included, 25 001 were males and 16 089 were females, 2 440 cases (5.94%) were detected with arterial stiffness. Compared with normal group, the age, body mass index, uric acid, creatinine, 25(OH)D level and proportion of dyslipidemia were all significantly higher in the arterial stiffness group [(60.1±9.8) vs (46.0±10.4) years, (25.3±3.4) vs (24.5±3.4) kg/m 2, (356.2±99.6) vs (345.0±95.8) μmol/L, (77.0±21.5) vs (73.8±15.9) μmol/L, (18.51±7.93) vs (18.11±7.27) μg/L, 48.4% vs 38.5%], while the glomerular filtration rate was significantly lower [(87.2±16.1) vs (99.1±14.0) ml·min -1·1.73 m -2] (all P<0.05). The 25(OH)D deficiency was positively correlated with the risk of arteriosclerosis ( OR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.07-1.51), and the risk of arterial stiffness increased by 16% for every 10 μg/L decrease in serum 25(OH)D levels (all Ptrend<0.001). The mean baPWV level in the 25(OH)D deficiency group was 12.45 cm/s (95% CI: 3.89-21.02) higher than that in 25(OH)D adequacy group; and for every 10 μg/L decrease in 25(OH)D, the baPWV increased by 11.23 cm/s (95% CI: 8.11-14.19) (all Ptrend<0.001). The association between serum 25(OH)D deficiency and the risk of arteriosclerosis was more pronounced in individuals with a body mass index of 24 kg/m2 or above ( Pfor interaction=0.039). Moreover, there was an “L”-shaped dose-response relationship between serum 25(OH)D level and the risk of arteriosclerosis ( Pnon-linear<0.001). Conclusion:The 25(OH)D deficiency is closely correlated with the risk of arteriosclerosis in the physical examination population, and the association is stronger in overweight individuals.

Objective:To explore the association between insulin resistance (IR) and new-onset hyperuricemia (HUA) in nurses.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 3 792 nurses from Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, who were surveyed from January to July in 2021. A total of 2 995 nurses who were successfully followed up in 2023 and met the inclusion criteria were selected for the study. The nurses were divided into four groups based on their quantiles (Q1 to Q4)for each indicator of insulin resistance (IR), including the triglyceride glucose (TyG), the triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI), the triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol index (TG/HDL-C), and the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR): groups. The impact of each IR indicator on the risk of HUA was assessed by using Cox regression analysis, while the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to evaluate and compare the predictive power of each indicator.Results:Of the 2 995 nurses, there were 65 males and 2 930 females, with a mean age of (33.19±6.67) years. During the follow-up period of 1.95 (1.87, 2.03) years, 152 new-onset HUA cases were identified, resulting in an incidence density of 26.02 per 1 000 person-years. After adjusting for various confounding factors, the Cox risk regression model analysis indicated that the hazard ratios (95% CI) for the risk of HUA in the highest quartile (Q4) compared to the lowest quartile (Q1) were as follows: 2.20(1.34, 3.63) for TyG, 4.95 (2.76, 8.90) for TyG-BMI, 3.24 (1.92, 5.45) for TG/HDL-C, and 6.15 (3.34, 11.33) for METS-IR. The areas under the ROC curves for TyG, TyG-BMI, TG/HDL-C, and METS-IR levels in predicting the risk of HUA in nurses was 0.71, 0.73, 0.72, and 0.74, respectively. Conclusion:The IR is positively correlated with new-onset HUA in nurses, and each IR index demonstrates a certain predictive efficacy for risk of HUA.