ObjectiveTo investigate the T lymphocyte subset levels and viral loads in newly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody-confirmed positive cases in Suzhou (2021‒2024), and to analyze potential influencing factors by integrating their demographic characteristics, immune status, and viral replication patterns, thereby providing evidence for HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention and control. MethodsPeripheral whole blood samples were collected from newly confirmed HIV-positive cases in Suzhou from 2021 to 2024. T lymphocyte subset analysis and viral load testing were performed, and influencing factors were identified in combination with demographic characteristics. Logistic regression models were employed to identify factors associated with CD4⁺T lymphocyte counts ≤350 cells·μL^-1, and Spearman’s rank correlation test was used to analyze the correlation between logarithmic value of viral load and CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio. ResultsAmong the 3 022 confirmed HIV-positive samples, the median CD4⁺T lymphocyte count was 298.00 cells·μL^-1, with 882 cases (29.19%) showing CD4⁺ T lymphocyte counts <200 cells·μL^-1. The median CD8⁺T lymphocyte count was 1 011.00 cells·μL^-1. The median CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio was 0.28, with 32.46% of cases exhibiting CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratios <0.20, and there were statistically significant differences in CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio among different genders, age groups, marital status, and sample sources (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that individuals aged ≥20 years, those who were divorced or widowed, and cases identified through medical institutions had a significantly higher proportion of CD4⁺T lymphocyte counts ≤350 cells·µL⁻¹ compared to those aged <20 years, unmarried individuals, and cases sourced from voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) clinics, respectively. The mean logarithmic value of viral load was (4.29±1.15) copies·mL^-1. The logarithmic value of viral load demonstrated a significantly negative correlation with both CD4⁺/CD8⁺ ratio (r=-0.43, P<0.001) and CD4⁺T lymphocyte count (r=-0.37, P<0.001). ConclusionA substantial proportion of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases in Suzhou are late presenters with high viral load levels. Targeted interventions should prioritize high-risk populations through enhanced active surveillance and the implementation of combined T lymphocyte subsets analysis and viral load testing, which can enable earlier case-finding and timely antiretroviral therapy initiation.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association and translational mechanism between the hepatotoxicity of Xianling Gubao （XLGB） and its treatment of osteoporosis based on a zebrafish model. MethodsZebrafish were randomly selected four days after fertilization （4 dpf） and exposed to different concentrations of XLGB （0.7，0.35 mg·L^-1） for 96 h. At the endpoint of the exposure， the mortality rates of zebrafish in the treatment groups of different concentrations were counted， and the "dose-toxicity" curves were plotted. The 10% sublethal concentration （LC₁₀） was calculated. The liver area， acridine orange staining， and pathological tissue sections of transgenic zebrafish ［CZ16 （gz15Tg.Tg （fabp 10a： ds Red； ela31： EGFP）］ were used as indicators to confirm the hepatic damage caused by the sublethal concentration of XLGB. By using the prednisolone （PNSL）-induced osteoporosis model of zebrafish， the anti-osteoporosis activity of XLGB was evaluated by using the area of skull stained by alizarin red and the cumulative optical density value as indicators. Then， the toxicity difference of XLGB on the liver of zebrafish in healthy and osteoporotic states was compared， and the mechanism of the translational action of the toxicity of XLGB was predicted based on network pharmacology and real-time polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）. ResultsThe LC₁₀ of XLGB on zebrafish （8 dpf） was 0.7 mg·L^-1. Compared with the blank group， the sublethal concentration （LC₁₀=0.7 mg·L^-1， 1/2 LC₁₀=0.35 mg·L^-1） of XLGB induced an increase in the number of apoptosis of hepatocytes in a dose-dependent manner， and the tissue arrangement of the liver was disordered and loose. The vacuoles were obvious， and the fluorescence area of the liver was significantly reduced （P<0.01）. Compared with the blank group， the mineralized area and cumulative optical density value of zebrafish skull in the PNSL model group were significantly reduced （P<0.01）， and those in the 0.7，0.35 mg·L^-1 XLGB treatment group were significantly increased compared with the model group （P<0.01）. Most importantly， 0.7 mg·L^-1 XLGB had no significant effect on the liver of zebrafish in the osteoporosis disease model compared with the blank group. The results of network pharmacology and real-time PCR experiments showed that the toxic transformation of XLGB might be related to the differences in the expression levels of key targets， such as tumor protein 53 （TP53）， cysteine aspartic acid specific protease-3（Caspase-3）， interleukin（IL）-6， and alkaline phosphatase（ALP） in different organismal states. ConclusionUnder certain conditions， XLGB has hepatotoxicity in normal zebrafish， but under osteoporotic conditions， XLGB not only exerts significant anti-osteoporosis activity but also alleviates hepatotoxicity significantly， which provides a reference for the safe clinical use of XLGB and real evidence for the theories of traditional Chinese medicine of attacking poison with poison and of treating disease with corresponding drugs without damage to the body.

ObjectiveTo analyze the expression level of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 （TREM-1） in serum and ascites of patients with cirrhotic ascites， and to investigate its correlation with clinical features and inflammatory markers and its role in the diagnosis of infection and prognostic evaluation. MethodsA total of 110 patients with cirrhotic ascites who were hospitalized in The Fifth Hospital of Shijiazhuang from January 2019 to December 2020 were enrolled， and according to the presence or absence of intra-abdominal infection， they were divided into infection group with 72 patients and non-infection group with 38 patients. The patients with infection were further divided into improvement group with 38 patients and non-improvement group with 34 patients. Clinical data and laboratory markers were collected from all patients. Serum and ascites samples were collected， and ELISA was used to measure the level of TREM-1. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between indicators. A multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic efficacy of each indicator， and the Delong test was used for comparison of the area under the ROC curve （AUC）. ResultsThe level of TREM-1 in ascites was significantly positively correlated with that in serum （r=0.50， P<0.001）. Compared with the improvement group， the non-improvement group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites （Z=-2.391， P=0.017） and serum （Z=-2.544， P=0.011）， and compared with the non-infection group， the infection group had a significantly higher level of TREM-1 in ascites （Z=-3.420， P<0.001）， while there was no significant difference in the level of TREM-1 in serum between the two groups （P>0.05）. The level of TREM-1 in serum and ascites were significantly positively correlated with C-reactive protein （CRP）， procalcitonin （PCT）， white blood cell count， and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio （r=0.288， 0.344， 0.530， 0.510， 0.534， 0.454， 0.330， and 0.404， all P<0.05）. The ROC curve analysis showed that when PCT， CRP， and serum or ascitic TREM-1 were used in combination for the diagnosis of cirrhotic ascites with infection， the AUCs were 0.715 and 0.740， respectively. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP （odds ratio ［OR］=1.019， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.001‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.038， P=0.043） and serum TREM-1 （OR=1.002， 95%CI： 1.000‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.003， P=0.016） were independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients with cirrhotic ascites and infection， and the combination of these two indicators had an AUC of 0.728 in predicting poor prognosis. ConclusionThe level of TREM-1 is closely associated with the severity of infection and prognosis in patients with cirrhotic ascites， and combined measurement of TREM-1 and CRP/PCT can improve the diagnostic accuracy of infection and provide support for prognostic evaluation.

ObjectiveTo investigate a suspected outbreak of healthcare-associated infection with carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) in a geriatric emergency ward, and to provide references for the prevention and control of multidrug-resistant bacteria in a hospital in Shanghai. MethodsOn-site epidemiological investigation, combined with environmental hygiene monitoring and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) molecular typing method, were adopted to investigate a suspected outbreak of CRKP infection in the geriatric emergency ward of a hospital from October to November 2022, aiming at finding out factors caused the outbreak before taking corresponding control measures. ResultsA total of 3 cases of healthcare-associated CRKP infection were identified, of which 2 cases were homologous to a previous case of community-associated CRKP infection. What’s more, the 2 cases lived in the same ward with the latter and with adjacent beds, but the third case was non-homologous to the community-associated infection case. A total of 46 samples were collected from the environmental surfaces and the hands of healthcare workers, of which 7 samples tested positive for CRKP and were identical to the strains from the 2 healthcare-associated infection cases and the 1 community-associated infection case, originating from the bedrails, bedside tables, surface of non-invasive ventilator, bed curtains and panels of monitoring equipment, with a detection rate of 15.22%. But none of the 11 samples from the hands of healthcare workers tested positive for CRKP. The outbreak was effectively controlled after taking specific prevention and control measures such as strengthening personnel management, intensifying environmental cleaning and disinfection and strictly enforcing hand hygiene among healthcare workers. Subsequently, no similar new cases were reported during the 14-day follow-up period. ConclusionIncomplete environmental cleaning and disinfection, as well as inadequate enforcement of hand hygiene among heatheare workers may have contributed to the suspected outbreak of CRKP in the geriatric emergency ward. Early warning and timely investigation of suspected outbreaks of multidrug-resistant bacteria are crucial for preventing and controlling such outbreaks in hospitals.

Objective To detect the content of rheumatoid factor(RF)after RF-CIC dissociation using serum circulating immune complexes(CIC)dissociation technology and evaluate its diagnostic and clinical value in rheumatic arthritis(RA).Methods 55 RA patients diagnosed and treated in the 903rd Hospital of the People's Liberation Army from January 2024 to December 2024 were selected as the RA disease group,and 20 healthy individuals were selected as the control group.In addition,57 non RA pa-tients with symptoms resembling RA[patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE),gout,ankylosing spondylitis(AS),osteo-arthritis,etc)]as the non RA disease group.Using CIC dissociation technology,RF content after RF-CIC dissociation was detect-ed in the serum of all three groups of study subjects,and C-reactive protein(CRP)and RF levels in all subjects were detected using a biochemical analyzer.Analyzed and compared the differences in the positive rate and levels of RF-CIC among three groups object of study.In addition,analyze and compare the correlation between RF-CIC and inflammatory index CRP.Results The positive rates of RF-CIC in the serum of RA disease group,non RA disease group,and control group were 87.27%(48/55),10.53%(6/57)and 0.0%(0/20),respectively,and the differences between the three groups was statistically significant(χ2=84.520,P<0.05).Further subgroup analysis showed that the RF-CIC positivity rate in the RF negative subgroup of RA disease patients[61.11%(11/18)]higher than that in the non RA disease group[1.92%(1/52)]and the control group[0%(0/20)],and the differ-ences were statistically significant(χ2=44.493,21.671,all P<0.05).The RF-CIC positivity rate was higher in RF positive pa-tients than in RF negative patients in the RA disease group(100%vs 61.11%),and the difference was statistically significant(χ2=16.487,P<0.05).The RF-CIC content in the serum of RF positive patients in the RA disease group was higher than that of RF negative patients[16.35(10.53,26.49)vs 3.57(2.53,3.89)],and the difference was statistically significant(Z=-4.243,P<0.05).Correlation analysis showed that the levels of CRP and RF in the serum of RA patients were positively correlated with the levels of RF-CIC(r=0.490,0.970,all P<0.05).Conclusion RF-CIC demonstrates high positivity even in RF-negative RA patients,and their levels correlate with CRP.RF-CIC shows potential as a serological indicator for early diagnosis and disease activity assess-ment in RA.

AIM:To explore the effects of Jianpi Huatan formula on regulating T cells and helper T cells 17(Th17)cells in patients with polycystic ova-ry syndrome(PCOS)due to spleen deficiency and phlegm dampness syndrome,and conduct a model evaluation.METHODS:Ninety-two patients with spleen deficiency phlegm dampness syndrome(PCOS)admitted to our hospital from January 2023 to October 2024 were selected as the research sub-jects.Propensity score matching(PSM)method was used to match them in a 1:1 ratio,with 46 pa-tients in each group.The control group received conventional treatment,while the observation group received treatment with Jianpi Huatan for-mula on the basis of the control group.Compared and analyze the differences in clinical data and lab-oratory indicators between two groups;Compared the changes of sex hormone,glucose metabolism and TCM syndrome score before and after treat-ment in the two groups,and focused on the chang-es of regulatory T cells(Treg)and Th17 cells in the two groups before and after treatment;And used the Generalized Estimation Equation(GEE)model to analyze its improvement.Multiple linear regres-sion analysis was used to examine its correlation with the score of traditional Chinese medicine syn-drome.A time effect model of Jianpi Huatan formu-la for treating PCOS with spleen deficiency and phlegm dampness syndrome was established using a nonlinear mixed effects model.The fitting effect of the final model was evaluated through the good-ness of fit.Bootstrap was used to test and evaluate the stability of model parameters.Visual prediction testing was used to evaluate the predictive perfor-mance of the model.Typical time effect curves of traditional Chinese medicine symptom scores was simulated based on the final model for each base-line.RESULTS:After treatment,the total effective rate of the observation group was significantly high-er than that of the control group(χ2=4.842,P=0.028);Compared with before treatment,after 1months and 3 months of treatment,TC,TG,LDL-C,T,LH,FSH,AMH,FPG,FINS,HOMA-IR,the score of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome were sig-nificantly reduced,while E2 and HDL-C were signifi-cantly increased,and the improvement in the ob-servation group was significantly greater than that in the control group(P<0.05);The results of repeat-ed measures ANOVA showed significant difference-sin the time effects,inter group effects,and interac-tion effects of Treg,Th17,and Treg/Th17 between the two groups of patients(P<0.05).The GEE anal-ysis results showed that the improvement of Treg,Th17,and Treg/Th17 in the observation group were better than that in the control group(P<0.05);The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the levels of TC,TG,LDL-C,T,LH,FSH,AMH,FPG,FINS,HOMA-IR,Th17 were significantly positively correlated with TCM syndrome score,while the levels of E2,HDL-C,Treg,and Treg/Th17 were significantly negatively correlated with TCM syndrome score(P<0.05);The decrease in tradition-al Chinese medicine symptom score compared to baseline gradually increases over time,eventually reaching the pharmacological platform,which was consistent with the classic Emax model.After gradu-ally screening covariates,it was found that the baseline value of traditional Chinese medicine symptom score had a significant impact on the effi-cacy parameter Emax.The final model was Emax,i=15.42+1.21×(Baselinei-24.41).The goodness of fit results showed that the final model had a good fit-ting effect on the measured data.The model pa-rameters obtained from Bootstrap testing were very consistent with the original model,indicated that the model parameter estimation was robust.The visual prediction test results showed that the model had good predictive performance.The typi-cal efficacy time curve showed that the higher the baseline value of TCM symptom score,the greater the decrease in score.At 3 months of treatment,the TCM symptom score at each baseline basically decreased to below 10 points.CONCLUSION:The formula for strengthening the spleen and resolving phlegm can effectively improve the levels of Treg and Th17 in PCOS patients with spleen deficiency and phlegm dampness syndrome,and has good therapeutic effects,which is worthy of clinical appli-cation.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of methylation sensitive-high resolution melting curve (MS-HRM) detection of IFN-induced protein 44-like (IFI44L) gene methylation in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as the relationship between IFI44L gene markers and the early onset of SLE.Methods:From February 2020 to September 2022, the MS-HRM was used to detect the methylation level of the IFI44L gene in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 602 SLE patients and 524 other autoimmune disease patients (excluding SLE) from Beijing Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Guangdong Provincial People′s Hospital, and Shenzhen People′s Hospital, totaling 1 126 patients. Compared with the 2012 SLICC criteria, the suspected cases were followed up for 6 months until the onset and clinical diagnosis of SLE were confirmed. The measurement data of normal distribution were expressed as mean±SD, and the consistency analysis was performed using the Kappa consistency test. The clinical diagnostic efficacy indicators were calculated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results:RR (95% CI) of early suspected cases was 17.06 (9.43, 30.82). The results of IFI44L gene methylation level were in good agreement with the 2012 SLICC criteria, and the sensitivity, specificity and total coincidence rate were 90.53%, 92.56% and 91.47%, respectively. The Kappa value (95% CI) was 0.829(0.796, 0.862) ( P<0.001). The diagnostic efficiency of IFI44L gene methylation level ( Kappa value 0.817) was superior to anti-nuclear antibody, anti-SM antibody and anti-dsDNA antibody ( Kappa value 0.418, 0.216 and 0.440, respectively). The Kappa values (95% CI) of methylation between MS-HRM and pyrosequencing was 0.861(0.806, 0.916), P<0.001. Conclusion:The hypomethylation of IFI44L gene methylation level detected by MS-HRM is closely related to the occurrence and development of SLE, and its diagnostic performance is better than that of three autoantibodies in SLE diagnosis, which can be used for the early diagnosis of SLE.

To investigate the expression level of costimulatory molecule B7-H3 in the tumor tissues and the level of soluble costimulatory molecule B7-H3 (sB7-H3) in the serum of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), so as to evaluate the clinical value of sB7-H3 in auxiliary diagnosis of CRC. A cross-sectional study design was adopted. A total of 232 CRC patients, 87 patients with benign colorectal diseases, and 59 healthy subjects who were treated in Shanghai Eighth People′s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were selected. The levels of sB7-H3, CEA, CA199, CA724 and CA50 in the serum were detected. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of sB7-H3 and the above-mentioned tumor markers for colorectal cancer (CRC). The expression levels of B7-H3 in CRC tissues and benign colorectal disease tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry. The relationship between the levels of sB7-H3 and clinicopathological features was analyzed statistically. The results showed that compared with the benign disease group or the healthy control respectively, the serum levels of sB7-H3, CEA, CA199, CA724 and CA50 in the CRC group were significantly increased, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). In the CRC group, the serum levels of sB7-H3 showed a weak positive correlation with CA50, CEA and CA724 (the r values were 0.220, 0.217 and 0.182 respectively; the P values were 0.005,<0.001 and 0.024 respectively), and there was no significant correlation with CA199 (the r value was 0.162; the P value were 0.051). The areas under the curve (AUC) of sB7-H3, CEA, CA199, CA724 and CA50 for diagnosing CRC were 0.862, 0.774, 0.646, 0.677 and 0.644 respectively, and the cut-off values were 20.67 ng/ml, 10.74 U/ml, 3.17 ng/ml, 3.16 U/ml, and 22.55 U/ml, respectively. Taking 20.67 ng/ml as the cut-off value, the positive rate of sB7-H3 in CRC was 62.9%, which was significantly higher than that in patients with benign colorectal diseases (35.6%) and the healthy control group (10%) ( χ2=81.995, P<0.001; χ2=103.56, P<0.001). The positive rates of sB7-H3 and CEA in patients with pathological stages Ⅲ and Ⅳ were significantly higher than those in patients with stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ ( χ2=82.876, P<0.001; χ2=22.617, P<0.001). The positive rate of sB7-H3 in patients with pathological stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ was 56.2%, which was significantly higher than that of CEA (38%) ( χ2=50.378, P<0.001). Immunohistochemistry showed that B7-H3 positive staining was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm. The positive expression rate of B7-H3 in CRC (75.8%) was significantly higher than that in benign colorectal diseases (15.4%) ( χ2=16.133, P<0.001). The serum level of sB7-H3 in CRC patients was positively correlated with the expression level of B7-H3 in tumor tissues ( r=0.766, P<0.001). The serum level of sB7-H3 was significantly correlated with distant metastasis and pathological stage of CRC ( W=899, P=0.002; H=10.465, P=0.015). In conclusion, serum level of sB7-H3 may have certain clinical value in the auxiliary diagnosis of CRC.

Objective To observe the value of conventional MRI and diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)for differentiating soft tissue lymphoma(STL)and soft tissue sarcoma(STS).Methods Conventional MRI and DWI data of 25 cases of STL(STL group)and 38 cases of STS(STS group)were retrospectively analyzed.MRI features being statistically different between groups were included in logistic regression analysis to screen the independent risk factors of STL and to evaluate the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of their combination for predicting STL.Receiver operating characteristic curve was generated,the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to assess the diagnostic efficacy of the mean apparent diffusion coefficient(ADCmean),the minimum apparent diffusion coefficient(ADCmin),the maximum apparent diffusion coefficient(ADCmax)values for distinguishing STL from STS.Results Slightly hyperintensity on T1WI,non-necrosis,involvement of multiple muscle groups and homogeneous enhancement were all independent risk factors of STL(all P＜0.05).The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of their combination for predicting STL was 72.00％(18/25),89.47％(34/38)and 82.54％(52/63),respectively.ADCmean,ADCmin and ADCmax values of STL was(1.06±0.18)× 10-3,(0.77±0.14)×10-3 and(1.47±0.31)× 10-3mm2/s,respectively,all lower than those of STS([1.31±0.17]× 10-3,[1.02±0.23]× 10-3 and[1.64±0.16]× 10-3 mm2/s;t=-4.829--2.498,all P＜0.05).The AUC of ADCmean,ADCmin and ADCmax values and their combination for differential diagnosis of STL and STS was 0.845,0.844,0.683 and 0.877,respectively.Conclusion Conventional MRI features,including T1WI signal intensity,necrosis,involvement of multiple muscle groups and enhancement pattern,along with ADCmean and ADCmin values derived from DWI contributed to differentiating STL and STS.

Objective:To analyze the phenotypes and gene mutations of the three families with hereditary protein S (PS) deficiency caused by frameshift heterozygous variants.Methods:Case report and case series study. We investigate three probands and their family members (14 people from three generations) who registrated in Beijing Jishuitan Hospital of Capital Medical University from Feb 1st to 28th, 2025. The clinical data of the three probands and their family members were collected. The related coagulation tests of all members were detected. Protein S activity (PS:A) was determined using coagulation assay, and total protein S antigen (TPS:Ag) and free protein S antigen (FPS:Ag) were measured using ELISA. All exons and their flanking sequences of the probands were amplified using PCR technique, and gene analysis by direct sequencing, and variant genes were searched which were then verified by cloning sequencing, meanwhile, the corresponding variant loci of the family members were analyzed. A calibrated automated thrombin generation (CAT) method was used to study thrombin production. ClustalX-2.1-win software was used to analyze the conservatism of the mutant loci; Mutation Taster and Franklin.genoox online bioinformatics software were used to predict the pathogenicity of the mutant loci; PyMol software was used to analyze the changes in protein spatial structure before and after mutation.Results:The PS:A, TPS:Ag and FPS:Ag of the three probands with hereditary PS deficiency were decreased. Genetic sequencing identified a total of three PROS1 genetic variants, and all the three probands were heterozygous frameshift variants: p.Gln51Argfs*2 in Proband A; p.Met251Valfs*17 in Proband B; and Thr478tyrfs*21 in Proband C. Conservative analysis showed that p.Gln51, p.Met251 and p.Thr478 loci were not conserved among the homologous species; Mutation Taster and Franklin.genoox analysis showed that these variants were pathogenic; protein structure model analysis showed that p.Gln51Argfs*2, p.Met251Valfs*17 and p. Thr478Tyrfs*21 variants may result in altered protein spatial structure.Conclusion:The heterozygous frameshift variations of PS p.Gln51Arg fs*2, p.Met251Valfs*17 and p.Thr478Tyrfs*21 would alter the spatial structure of PS molecules, and reduce their structural stability, leading to PS deficiency.