Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is linked to an increased prevalence of myocardial infarction (MI). However, research dedicated to elucidating the pathogenesis of AS-MI is lacking. In this study, we explored the biomarkers for enhancing the diagnostic and therapeutic efficiency of AS-MI. Datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We employed weighted gene co-expression network analysis and machine learning models to screen hub genes. A receiver operating characteristic curve and a nomogram were designed to assess diagnostic accuracy. Gene set enrichment analysis was conducted to reveal the potential function of hub genes. Immune infiltration analysis indicated the correlation between hub genes and the immune landscape. Subsequently, we performed single-cell analysis to identify the expression and subcellular localization of hub genes. We further constructed a transcription factor (TF)-microRNA (miRNA) regulatory network. Finally, drug prediction and molecular docking were performed. S100A12 and MCEMP1 were identified as hub genes, which were correlated with immune-related biological processes. They exhibited high diagnostic value and were predominantly expressed in myeloid cells. Furthermore, 24 TFs and 9 miRNA were associated with these hub genes. Enzastaurin, meglitinide, and nifedipine were predicted as potential therapeutic agents. Our study indicates that S100A12 and MCEMP1 exhibit significant potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AS-MI, offering novel insights into the underlying etiology of this condition.
Humans ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing/complications* ; Systems Biology/methods* ; Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis* ; Biomarkers/metabolism* ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Machine Learning

Objective:To investigate the level of self-management and daily physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) of Zang and Han nationalities in Tibetan, China, and to compare the difference in daily management between T2DM patients of Zang and Han nationalities, to develop reasonable and effective chronic disease management strategies for long-term out-of-hospital management of T2DM patients of Zang nationalities.Methods:A total of 265 T2DM patients with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥ 7% who were admitted to the Endocrinology Ward of the Hospital of Chengdu Office of People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region from November 2020 to April 2021 and who were from different regions of Tibet were included in this study according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The general data of all included patients were collected. Glucose and lipid metabolism-related indicators were determined. The Generalized Diabetes Self-Management Efficacy Scale and International Physical Activity Questionnaires (IPAQ) were used to evaluate patients' levels of self-management and daily physical activity.Results:The hemoglobin level in T2DM patients of Zang nationality was (154.09 ± 24.11) g/L, which was significantly higher than that in T2DM patients of Han nationality ( P < 0.05). The total cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, and low-density lipoprotein in T2DM patients of Zang nationality were (4.63 ± 1.41) mmol/L, (7.94 ± 2.19) mmol/L, and (2.75 ± 1.11) mmol/L, respectively, which significantly higher compared with T2DM patients of Han nationality (all P < 0.05). Compared with T2DM patients of Han nationality, T2DM patients of Zang nationality had lower self-management scores (81.40 ± 15.44) points, diet control scores (17.26 ± 4.97) points, physical exercise scores (11.67 ± 4.42) points, prevention and treatment of high and low blood sugar score (12.21 ± 5.72) points. The differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). Moderate-intensity physical activity was a significant difference between T2DM patients of Zang and Han nationalities ( P < 0.05). Conclusion:Compared with T2DM patients of Han nationality, T2DM patients of Zang nationality have lower overall self-management levels, including diet control, physical exercise, prevention and management of high and low blood glucose, and moderate-intensity physical activity. Targeted individualized education should be carried out according to the Tibetan cultural characteristics, to further develop an intervention method and an out-of-hospital management strategy for chronic disease, which are suitable for T2DM patients of Zang nationality.

Objective:To evaluate the performance of three antibody kits for novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and to investigate the feasibility and advantages of them in clinical application.Methods:A total of 104 patients who were admitted to Guangzhou Eighth People′s Hospital with COVID-19 from January to February 2020 were selected as research group. Fifty-one healthy subjects were selected during the same period as negative control group. Serum antibodies (IgM/IgG) against SARS-CoV-2 were detected using two kinds of colloidal gold kits (A and B kits) and one chemiluminescence kit (C kit). The positive rates of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid in different samples from patients with COVID-19 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:The clinical sensitivity of A kit to detect SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM and IgG was 77.88% (81/104) and 65.38% (68/104), respectively, and the clinical specificity was 70.59% (36/51) and 100.00% (51/51). However, the false positive rate in IgM detection was as high as 29.41% (15/51). The sensitivity of B kit to test total antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was 63.46% (66/104), and the clinical specificity was 94.12% (48/51). The clinical sensitivity of C kit to detect SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM and IgG were respectively 31.73% (33/104) and 64.42% (67/104), and the clinical specificity were both 98.04% (50/51). There was a moderate correlation between the detection results of two colloidal gold kits and the chemiluminescence kit with the Kappa values of 0.462 and 0.587 ( Z=6.157, P<0.01; Z=7.345, P<0.01). C kit had the highest positive detection rate for IgG, and would be more reliable to be used for IgG detection in COVID-19 patients 14 d after onset. The total positive detection rate of nucleic acid in all types of samples was 63.46% (66/104). The highest positive detection rate was in throat swabs or sputum samples, followed by those in blood samples and anal swabs. No viral nucleic acid was detected in urine samples for the time being. Conclusions:SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies could be detected in the early or late stage of COVID-19. The method of antibody detection has the advantages of shorter detection time, simple operation and high biological safety, indicating that it could be used as a supplementary or auxiliary detection for the diagnosis of suspected COVID-19 cases with negative nucleic acid test results. The chemiluminescence kit has good sensitivity and specificity, and is well recommended for clinical laboratories.

Objective To investigate whether chemokine CC motif 2 (CCL2) is involved in the high residual platelet response,and the mechanism of CCL2 being involved in the regulation of platelets.Methods Forty patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were admitted.P2Y12 reaction unit (PRU) was detected by VerifyNow.Forty patients were divided into high platelet reactivity group (high reactivity group,n=24) and normal platelet reactivity group (normal reactivity group,n=16) according to the results of PRU detection.Plasma CCL2 concentration of the STEMI patients was examined by ELISA.The expressions of CCL2 and CCR2 in the platelets were detected by Western blotting.After CCL2 stimulation,the kinases of which phosphorylation was changed in the platelets were screened by ARY003B protein chips.The phosphorylation of p38MAPK and HSP27 in the platelets was tested by Western blotting after CCL2 stimulation in the presence or absence of CCR2 antagonist (RS 102895) or p38MAPK signal pathway inhibitor (SB 203580).Results The plasma CCL2 concentration of high reactivity group was markedly higher than that of normal reactivity group.Moreover,compared with normal reactivity group,the expressions of CCL2 and CCR2 in the platelets of high reactivity group significantly increased.After the platelets were stimulated by CCL2,the phosphorylation of p38α and HSP27 enhanced in the platelets by protein chips screening.When RS 102895 or SB 203580 was treated before CCL2 stimulation,the phosphorylation of p38MAPK and HSP27 decreased.Conclusions CCL2 participates in high residual platelet response in an autocrine/paracrine way.CCL2/CCR2 might affect the function ofplatelets through p38MAPKHSP27 signal pathway.

Objective:To investigate the influence of different salt concentration on the renal fibrosis and macrophages infiltration in salt sensitive hypertension.Methods:Dahl salt sensitive rats were randomly divided into the normal salt (0.3 ％ nacl) group,4 ％ high salt,8 ％ high salt groups at six weeks continuously feeding for 8 weeks,each group contained 15 rats.Tail-cuffmethod was used to value rat blood pressure at 8 weeks,Masson trichromatic method was used to detect renal fibrosis of the three groups at 8 week.Immunohistochemistry and Western blot method were used to depict the renal macrophage infiltration at 8 week.Results:1) The blood pressure of 4 ％ salt and 8％ high salt group rats were significantly higher than those of the normal salt group at 8week,meanwhile the blood pressure of 8 ％ high salt was further increased than that of 4 ％ high salt group at 8 week.2) The relative kidney weight and renal fibrosis of 4 ％ salt and 8 ％ high salt group rats were obviously higher than that of normal salt group at 8week,meanwhile the relative kidney weight and renal fibrosis of 8 ％ high salt were further increased than those of 4 ％ high salt group at 8 week.3) The macrophage infiltration of 4 ％ salt and 8％ high salt group rats were higher than that of the normal salt group at 8week,meanwhile the macrophage infiltration of 8 ％ high salt was further increased than that of 4 ％ high salt group at 8 week.Conclusion:Different high salt concentrations had different effect on the renal fibrosis and macrophage infiltration in the salt sensitive hypertension,high salt concentration could exacerbate the renal fibrosis and macrophage infiltration.

BACKGROUND:It has been found that cel ular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes (CREG) is a lysosomal protein binding directly to the mannose-6-phosphate (M6P)/insulin-like growth factor II receptor (IGFIIR) and depends on the interaction with M6P receptors for efficient delivery to lysosomes OBJECTIVE:To study the interactions between the exogenous CREG protein and cathepsins and M6P/IGFIIR and to confirm the effect of CREG protein on expression and distribution of M6P/IGFIIR. METHODS:Double-stained immunofluorescence and coimmunoprecipitation were applied to observe the interactions between the exogenous CREG protein and cathepsin B, cathepsin L and M6P/IGFIIR. Using gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches, the effect of CREG on expression and distribution of M6P/IGFIIR were studied by western blot assay and immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Double-stained immunofluorescence and coimmunoprecipitation analyses confirmed the direct interactions between the exogenous CREG protein and cathepsin B, cathepsin L and M6P/IGFIIR. It was verified that CREG plays a critical role not in the expression but in the distribution of M6P/IGFIIR using gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches. These findings provide evidence that exogenous CREG protein is located in lysosomes and has interactions with cathepsins and M6P/IGFIIR, also CREG plays a critical role in the distribution of M6P/IGFIIR.

Objective To explore possible role of cellular repressor of E1A-stimulated genes(CREG) in the process of phenotypic switching of adventitial fibroblasts(AFs). Methods Immunofluorescent staining was performed with tissue sections from mouse carotid arteries to evaluate the relationship between the expression of CREG and smooth muscle actin-α(α-SMA) in injured arteries, especially in the adventitia. Tissue block pasted culture method was used to isolate and culture AFs. RT-PCR and Western-blot were used to detect the change of CREG andα-SMA mRNA and protein expression in AFs in the presence of different concentrations of AngⅡfor 12 h/24 h or in the presence of 100 nmol/L Ang Ⅱ for different times. Results Normal mouse carotid arteries had little α-SMA expression throughout the tunica adventitia. Arteries at day 1 and day 3 post-injury exhibited significantly higher immunofluorescence of α-SMA compared with non-injured arteries. Alpha-SMA expression began to decrease on day 7 and progressively declined on day 14. In contrast, immunofluorescent staining revealed that CREG was expressed in the adventitia of normal arteries. Expression of CREG in the adventitia of injured arteries was decreased on the 1st day, reached its lowest value on the 3rd day, and increased gradually from the 7th day, and was higher compared with that in non-injured arteries on the 14th day after injury. Similarly, the expression of CREG in AFs was very high, and AngⅡremarkably decreased mRNA and protein expression levels of CREG in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Conclusions The changes in CREG expression correlate with AF phenotypic modulation, and CREG down-regulation may facilitate AF phenotypic switching into myofibroblasts (MFs).

AIM:To investigate the effect of potassium treatment on coronary arterial impairment induced by high salt intake.METHODS:Sprague-Dawley rats (4-week-old, n=10 in each group) received distilled water (NS), water containing 1.5%NaCl (HS), or 1.5% NaCl and 0.5% KCl (HS+HP) for 16 weeks.Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was determined by tail plethysmography every 2 weeks.After 16 weeks of treatment, vascular remodeling, superox-ide production, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and gp91 expression in the coronary arteries were detected .RESULTS:After 16 weeks of salt loading , the rats in HS group was divided into salt sensitive subgroup and salt resistance subgroup according to the tail-cuff blood pressure .In this experiment , the salt-sensi-tive rats were selected as HS group .In HS group, salt loading significantly increased SBP , serum MDA and gp91 expres-sion, decreased serum NO and eNOS expression in the coronary arteries , and induced the coronary artery remodeling com-pared with NS group .In salt-loaded SD rats , 16-week potassium treatment abrogated the effects induced by salt loading . CONCLUSION:High salt may affect structural and functional changes in coronary arteries by activating oxidative stress . Potassium treatment antagonizes the effect of high salt intake .

Objective To investigate the effects of moldavica total flavone on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in ovalbumin-induced bronchial asthmatic rats, and explore its mechanism. Methods A total of 60 SD rats was randomly divided into control group, model group, dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) group and moldavica total flavone low (90 mg/kg), medium (180 mg/kg) and high (360 mg/kg) dose group. Rats asthma model was established by ovalbumin challenge methods except the control group. After modeling, rats in control and model groups were intragastrically given distilled water, rats in medicine groups were intragastrically given moldavica total flavone and dexamethasone for 30 d. VEGF in lung tissue and ICAM-1 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were detected respectively by ELISA. The content of ET-1 and NO in BALF were analyzed with radioimmunity method and nitric acid reductase method. Results The VEGF in lung tissue and ICAM-1, NO and ET-1 in BALF were decreased by moldavica total flavone at 180 and 360 mg/kg (P<0.05, P<0.01) in ovalbumin-induced bronchial asthmatic rats. Conclusion Moldavica total flavone is effective in adjusting abnormal increase of VEGF, ICAM-1, ET-1 and NO of bronchial asthma rats.

Objective To investigate the effect of moldavica total flavone on pulmonary function and collagen type Ⅲ in lung tissue of ovalbumin-induced bronchial asthmatic rats. Methods A total of 60 SD rats were randomly divided into control group, model group, dexamethasone group, and moldavica total flavone low, medium and high dose group. Rat asthma model was established by ovalbumin challenge methods except the control group. The control and model group were intragastrically given distilled water, medicine groups were intragastrically given moldavica total flavone and dexamethasone for 30 d, once per day. After the last administration, the pulmonary function and airway responsiveness including breathing frequency (F), minute ventilation (MVb), peak inspiratory flow (PIFb), peak expiratory flow (PEFb) and enhanced pause (Penh) were measured by using non-invasive measurement system (Penh system, Buxco, USA). The collagen type Ⅲ in lung tissue were detected by ELISA. Results The moldavica total flavone at 180 and 360 mg/kg decreased F and Penh (P<0.05, P<0.01), increased MVb, PIFb and PEFb (P<0.05), and decreased collagen type Ⅲ in lung tissue (P<0.05, P<0.01). Conclusion Moldavica total flavone can relieve the airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling, improve respiratory function of ovalbumin-induced bronchial asthmatic rats.