BACKGROUND:Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a destructive cardiopulmonary disease for which there is no cure.An association between plasma proteins and pulmonary arterial hypertension has been suggested,but the causal relationship has not been specifically elucidated.OBJECTIVE:To elucidate the causal relationship between plasma proteome and pulmonary arterial hypertension using a two-sample Mendelian randomization method,thereby searching for potential therapeutic targets for pulmonary arterial hypertension.METHODS:Plasma Protein Gene-Wide Association Analysis Statistics for 4 907 Aptamer Measurements in 35 559 Icelanders from the Icelandic Database;Genome-wide association analysis statistics for pulmonary arterial hypertension were obtained from the Finn Gen database,version R9,including 234 cases and 265 626 controls.Analyses were performed using Mendelian randomization and Bayesian co-localization analysis,the findings were examined using sensitivity analyses,and protein-protein interaction network maps were constructed to explore the causal relationship between plasma proteins and pulmonary arterial hypertension.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The results of inverse variance weighting,maximum likelihood and Wald ratio methods showed 19 proteins causally associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension(P＜0.05).Among them,10 plasma proteins,including Beta-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase manic fringe(odds ratio[OR]=0.12,95％confidence interval[CI]0.02-0.61,P=0.01)and interferon alpha/beta receptor 1(OR=0.45,95％CI 0.24-0.84,P=0.012),might be associated with a reduced risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension.In contrast,nine plasma proteins,such as glucoside xylosyltransferase 1(OR=3.48,95％CI 1.51-8.00,P=0.003)and plasminogen(OR=42.78,95％CI 2.49-734.31,P=0.01),might be associated with an increased risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension.After the false discovery rate was corrected,19 proteins remained significantly associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension.(2)Multiple sensitivity analyses such as the MR-Egger intercept test and leave-one-out method showed no horizontal multiplicity or heterogeneity in the results of the study,indicating the stability of the study's results.(3)Bayesian co-localization analysis showed that six plasma proteins,including plasminogen(PPH4=1.0)and glucoside xylosyltransferase 1(PPH4=0.94),had PPH4＞0.8,suggesting that plasma proteins and the genome-wide association study of pulmonary arterial hypertension had similar causal variance in terms of genetic association.(4)By constructing a protein-protein interaction network map,plasminogen,Annexin A1,fibrinogen gamma chain and matrix metalloproteinase 7 were found to be core proteins.(5)The article used Mendelian randomization analysis to reveal a potential causal association between 4 907 plasma proteins and pulmonary arterial hypertension,suggesting that plasma proteins may be potential therapeutic targets for pulmonary arterial hypertension.The core proteins identified in the study also provide a theoretical basis for further in-depth study of the pathophysiological mechanisms of pulmonary arterial hypertension.Secondly,analyses using the large-scale international databases of Iceland and FinnGen provide new research directions and treatment ideas for pulmonary arterial hypertension in specific populations and environments,as well as ideas and methods that can be used to prevent and treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in China.

BACKGROUND:Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a destructive cardiopulmonary disease for which there is no cure.An association between plasma proteins and pulmonary arterial hypertension has been suggested,but the causal relationship has not been specifically elucidated.OBJECTIVE:To elucidate the causal relationship between plasma proteome and pulmonary arterial hypertension using a two-sample Mendelian randomization method,thereby searching for potential therapeutic targets for pulmonary arterial hypertension.METHODS:Plasma Protein Gene-Wide Association Analysis Statistics for 4 907 Aptamer Measurements in 35 559 Icelanders from the Icelandic Database;Genome-wide association analysis statistics for pulmonary arterial hypertension were obtained from the Finn Gen database,version R9,including 234 cases and 265 626 controls.Analyses were performed using Mendelian randomization and Bayesian co-localization analysis,the findings were examined using sensitivity analyses,and protein-protein interaction network maps were constructed to explore the causal relationship between plasma proteins and pulmonary arterial hypertension.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The results of inverse variance weighting,maximum likelihood and Wald ratio methods showed 19 proteins causally associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension(P＜0.05).Among them,10 plasma proteins,including Beta-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase manic fringe(odds ratio[OR]=0.12,95％confidence interval[CI]0.02-0.61,P=0.01)and interferon alpha/beta receptor 1(OR=0.45,95％CI 0.24-0.84,P=0.012),might be associated with a reduced risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension.In contrast,nine plasma proteins,such as glucoside xylosyltransferase 1(OR=3.48,95％CI 1.51-8.00,P=0.003)and plasminogen(OR=42.78,95％CI 2.49-734.31,P=0.01),might be associated with an increased risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension.After the false discovery rate was corrected,19 proteins remained significantly associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension.(2)Multiple sensitivity analyses such as the MR-Egger intercept test and leave-one-out method showed no horizontal multiplicity or heterogeneity in the results of the study,indicating the stability of the study's results.(3)Bayesian co-localization analysis showed that six plasma proteins,including plasminogen(PPH4=1.0)and glucoside xylosyltransferase 1(PPH4=0.94),had PPH4＞0.8,suggesting that plasma proteins and the genome-wide association study of pulmonary arterial hypertension had similar causal variance in terms of genetic association.(4)By constructing a protein-protein interaction network map,plasminogen,Annexin A1,fibrinogen gamma chain and matrix metalloproteinase 7 were found to be core proteins.(5)The article used Mendelian randomization analysis to reveal a potential causal association between 4 907 plasma proteins and pulmonary arterial hypertension,suggesting that plasma proteins may be potential therapeutic targets for pulmonary arterial hypertension.The core proteins identified in the study also provide a theoretical basis for further in-depth study of the pathophysiological mechanisms of pulmonary arterial hypertension.Secondly,analyses using the large-scale international databases of Iceland and FinnGen provide new research directions and treatment ideas for pulmonary arterial hypertension in specific populations and environments,as well as ideas and methods that can be used to prevent and treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in China.

Objective: To investigate the effects of different storage temperatures and durations on the activities of coagulation factor Ⅷ (Factor Ⅷ, FⅧ) and coagulation factor Ⅸ (Factor Ⅸ, FⅨ) after whole blood collection, so as to provide data support for the optimal storage conditions. Methods: A total of 16 mL of whole blood was collected from each of the 20 healthy volunteers at our blood center and aliquoted into 8 sodium citrate anticoagulant tubes. Two tubes were immediately centrifuged for the measurement of FⅧ and FⅨ activity levels. The remaining 6 tubes of whole blood were respectively stored under room temperature and low-temperature conditions. At 2, 4, and 6 h, the whole blood samples were centrifuged and analyzed for FⅧ and FⅨ activity levels. The mean values of the two immediately tested tubes were used as the control group, while other tubes were designated as the experimental groups for comparison. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0. Results: The activity of FⅧ in whole blood remained stable after 4 hours of storage at both room temperature and low temperature (116.53±25.95 vs 125.22±27.33, 109.77±23.23 vs 125.22±27.33) (P>0.05 for both). However, by 6 hours, FⅧ activity showed a statistically significant decline compared to the control group (108.65±22.92 vs 125.22±27.33, 100.46±20.19 vs 125.22±27.33) (P<0.05 for both), though the room temperature group results were closer to the control values. The activity of FⅨ in whole blood remained stable after 6 hours of storage under both conditions (97.14±19.48 vs 96.76±19.67, 97.10±17.45 vs 96.76±19.6) (P>0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusion: For whole blood samples after collection, storage at either room temperature or low temperature for up to 4 hours does not compromise the accuracy of test results. When stored for 6 hours, FⅨ activity remains stable, whereas FⅧ activity decreases significantly. Notably, FⅧ activity demonstrates better stability at room temperature than under low-temperature conditions within the 6-hour storage.

Objective: To study the correlation between activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) mixing test results and the inhibitor titers in hemophilia A inhibitor-positive patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 41 patients with severe hemophilia A and inhibitors (and negative for lupus anticoagulant) were included from the hemophilia clinic of Shandong Blood Center from February 2022 to February 2024. All patients underwent APTT mixing test. The Rosner's index (RI, including the immediate RI and the RI after 2-hour water bath incubation [water bath 2h RI]), the time-dependent difference (Δ value), and the corrected percentage were calculated based on results of APTT mixing test. The median (interquartile range) of the corresponding indexes were calculated, and the ROC curves for identification of high inhibitor titers using the four indexes (the immediate RI, the water bath 2h RI, the Δ value, and the corrected percentage) were plotted, The correlations between APTT mixing test and inhibitor titers for coagulation factor Ⅷ (Factor Ⅷ, FⅧ) were investigated. Results: The median (lower quartile, upper quartile) of immediate RI, water bath 2h RI, Δ-value and corrected percentage for FⅧ inhibitor positive patients were 11.0 (5.4, 29.3)%, 45.0 (25.7, 75.0)%, 26.2 (7.6, 41.8) s, and 82.2 (58.5, 91.6)%, respectively. The median (lower quartile, upper quartile) of the immediate RI, water bath 2h RI, Δ-value and corrected percentage were 25.2 (13.0, 37.5)%, 64.1 (44.6, 72.6)%, 38.0 (14.3, 38.3) s, and 66.5 (50.1, 82.1)% for the high-titer inhibitor group, and 5.2 (4.2, 9.4)%, 17.9 (8.8, 28.0)%, 13.0 (7.6, 25.4) s, and 92.3 (88.0, 94.3)% for the low-titer inhibitor group. The AUCs of the ROC curves for discrimination between high and low titer inhibitor were: 0.9105 for immediate RI, 0.9118 for water bath 2h RI, 0.8873 for correcter percentage, and 0.6532 for Δ-value. Conclusion: High-titer inhibitors can be highly suspected in hemophiliac patients with an immediate RI >10% and a water bath 2h RI >45%, and the presence of low-titer inhibitors is suspected in patients with a 4-second < immediate RI <10% and a 13% < water bath 2h RI <45%.

Objective This study aimed to assess the clinical utility of combining the Controlling Nutri-tional Status(CONUT)score with the Prognostic Nutritional Index(PNI)for evaluating anemia risk in elderly colorectal cancer patients and to establish a risk prediction model.Methods A total of 661 elderly colorectal cancer patients treated at Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Hospital from July 2018 to March 2025 were included in this retrospective study.Patients were categorized into anemic and non-anemic groups and randomly assigned to a training set and validation set at a 7:3 ratio.The XGBoost algorithm was applied to develop a predictive model for anemia risk,and its performance was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.SHAP value visualization,and other methods.Results Among the 661 patients,257(38.9％)were diagnosed with anemia.Compared with the non-anemic group,patients in the anemic group had significantly lower levels of PNI and albumin,but higher CONUT scores and blood urea nitrogen levels.Additionally,the anemic group had higher proportions of tumor diameter≥5 cm,poorly differentiated tumors,and stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ disease(all P<0.05).The XGBoost model demonstrated good discriminatory ability,with an AUC of 0.897(95％CI:0.868～0.925).SHAP value analysis identified PNI,CONUT score,albumin,blood urea nitrogen,TNM stage,tumor differentiation,and tumor size as major contributing variables.PNI and albumin were protective factors,whereas CONUT score,blood urea nitrogen,and tumor-related features were risk factors.Conclusion Nutritional indicators such as PNI and CONUT score,along with tumor characteristics,can effectively predict the risk of anemia in elderly patients with colorectal cancer.The XGBoost-based predictive model demonstrates high discriminatory power and good inter-pretability,providing valuable support for early screening of high-risk patients and guiding individualized nutri-tional interventions and anemia management.

Objective To prepare in-house coagulation factor Ⅷ(F Ⅷ)inhibitor-positive control material and evaluate its perform-ance.Methods Frozen plasma samples from hemophilia A patients with positive factor Ⅷ inhibitors were pooled,and diluted with Owren's Veronal Buffer(OVB)to 1 BU/mL of the inhibitor concentration in the mixture,then aliquoted and freeze-stored.The homo-geneity and stability of the in-house quality control material were verified,and its suitability was further assessed through intra-laborato-ry reproducibility among different technologists and inter-laboratory comparisons.Results Twenty-one aliquots were randomly tested for homogeneity assessment,yielding an average of 1.05 BU/mL(range 0.9-1.15 BU/mL),with a standard deviation(SD)of 0.083 and coefficient of variation(CV)of 7.90％.The freshly prepared inhibitor-positive control samples contained a concentration of 1.03 BU/mL.After storage at-80℃ for 24 hours,1 week,1 month,2 months,3 months,4 months,5 months,6 months,7 months,8 months,and 9 months,thawed the samples showed relative deviations of 9％,0％,10％,9％,14％,15％,6％,0％,-10％,-5％,and 2％,respectively.The intra-laboratory CV value from different technologists at this center was 7.28％,and the inter-labora-tory CV across different centers was 18.75％.Conclusion The prepared in-house positive control material of Factor Ⅷ inhibitor ex-hibited adequate uniformity and stability.

Objective This study aimed to assess the clinical utility of combining the Controlling Nutri-tional Status(CONUT)score with the Prognostic Nutritional Index(PNI)for evaluating anemia risk in elderly colorectal cancer patients and to establish a risk prediction model.Methods A total of 661 elderly colorectal cancer patients treated at Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Hospital from July 2018 to March 2025 were included in this retrospective study.Patients were categorized into anemic and non-anemic groups and randomly assigned to a training set and validation set at a 7:3 ratio.The XGBoost algorithm was applied to develop a predictive model for anemia risk,and its performance was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.SHAP value visualization,and other methods.Results Among the 661 patients,257(38.9％)were diagnosed with anemia.Compared with the non-anemic group,patients in the anemic group had significantly lower levels of PNI and albumin,but higher CONUT scores and blood urea nitrogen levels.Additionally,the anemic group had higher proportions of tumor diameter≥5 cm,poorly differentiated tumors,and stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ disease(all P<0.05).The XGBoost model demonstrated good discriminatory ability,with an AUC of 0.897(95％CI:0.868～0.925).SHAP value analysis identified PNI,CONUT score,albumin,blood urea nitrogen,TNM stage,tumor differentiation,and tumor size as major contributing variables.PNI and albumin were protective factors,whereas CONUT score,blood urea nitrogen,and tumor-related features were risk factors.Conclusion Nutritional indicators such as PNI and CONUT score,along with tumor characteristics,can effectively predict the risk of anemia in elderly patients with colorectal cancer.The XGBoost-based predictive model demonstrates high discriminatory power and good inter-pretability,providing valuable support for early screening of high-risk patients and guiding individualized nutri-tional interventions and anemia management.

Objective To prepare in-house coagulation factor Ⅷ(F Ⅷ)inhibitor-positive control material and evaluate its perform-ance.Methods Frozen plasma samples from hemophilia A patients with positive factor Ⅷ inhibitors were pooled,and diluted with Owren's Veronal Buffer(OVB)to 1 BU/mL of the inhibitor concentration in the mixture,then aliquoted and freeze-stored.The homo-geneity and stability of the in-house quality control material were verified,and its suitability was further assessed through intra-laborato-ry reproducibility among different technologists and inter-laboratory comparisons.Results Twenty-one aliquots were randomly tested for homogeneity assessment,yielding an average of 1.05 BU/mL(range 0.9-1.15 BU/mL),with a standard deviation(SD)of 0.083 and coefficient of variation(CV)of 7.90％.The freshly prepared inhibitor-positive control samples contained a concentration of 1.03 BU/mL.After storage at-80℃ for 24 hours,1 week,1 month,2 months,3 months,4 months,5 months,6 months,7 months,8 months,and 9 months,thawed the samples showed relative deviations of 9％,0％,10％,9％,14％,15％,6％,0％,-10％,-5％,and 2％,respectively.The intra-laboratory CV value from different technologists at this center was 7.28％,and the inter-labora-tory CV across different centers was 18.75％.Conclusion The prepared in-house positive control material of Factor Ⅷ inhibitor ex-hibited adequate uniformity and stability.

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of nano-alumina(nano-Al2 O3 )on mitophagy in primary cortical neuronal cells from Wistar newborn rats. METHODS The purity of neuronal cells was detected by immunohistochemistry,and the lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)assay was performed to determine the viability of the cells treated with 13 nm nano-Al2 O3 0.5 mmol·L-1 for 12,24 and 48 h,respectively. The mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP)was detected by flow cytometry analysis . The ultrastructure of mitochondria and mitophagy vacuoles was observed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Auto-phagic vacuoles were observed by dansylpentanediamine(MDC)staining and the expression of autoph-agy related protein Beclin1 and LC3Ⅱ/ Ⅰ was determined by Western blotting. Mitophagy was observed by Lysotracker and Mitotracker staining respectively. RESULTS More than 95% cells were neuronal cells. The activity of LDH in the supernatant liquid exposed to nano-Al2 O3 for 12 and 24 h groups was sig-nificantly increased compared with the control group(P﹤0.05). After exposure to nano-Al2 O3 ,the mito-chondrial membrane potential was significantly decreased compared with the control group( P ﹤0.01). The results of TEM displayed mitochondrial swelling and the formation of vacuoles and mitophagy in nano-Al2 O3 groups. MDC positive fluorescence particles were observed and the expression of autophagy related protein Beclin1 and LC3Ⅱ/ Ⅰ was increased in nano-Al2 O3 groups compared with the control group( P ﹤ 0. 05 ). The result of Lysotracker and Mitotracker colocalization showed the fusion of mitochondria and lysosomals. CONCULSION Nano-Al2 O3 may induce autophagy and mitochondria damage in neuronal cells while the damaged mitochondria may be removed by mitophagy.

The study was conducted to investigate the role of vitamin E in the high altitude hypoxia-induced damage to the intestinal barrier in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control (Control), high altitude hypoxia (HH), and high altitude hypoxia+vitamin E (250 mg/kg BW*d) (HV) groups. After the third day, the HH and HV groups were placed in a hypobaric chamber at a stimulated elevation of 7000 m for 5 days. The rats in the HV group were given vitamin E by gavage daily for 8 days. The other rats were given equal volume saline. The results showed that high altitude hypoxia caused the enlargement of heart, liver, lung and kidney, and intestinal villi damage. Supplementation with vitamin E significantly alleviated hypoxia-caused damage to the main organs including intestine, increased the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p< 0.05), diamino oxidase (DAO) (p< 0.01) levels, and decreased the serum levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) (p< 0.01), interleukin-4 (IL-4) (p<0.001), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) (p<0.01) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (p<0.001), and decreased the serum erythropoietin (EPO) activity (p<0.05). Administration of vitamin E significantly increased the S-IgA (p<0.001) in ileum and significantly improved the expression levels of occludin and IkappaBalpha, and decreased the expression levels of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha and 2 alpha (HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha), Toll-like receptors (TLR4), P-IkappaBalpha and nuclear factor-kappaB p65(NF-kappaB P65) in ileum compared to the HH group. This study suggested that vitamin E protectis from intestinal injury caused by high altitude hypoxia environment. These effects may be related to the HIF and TLR4/NF-kappaB signaling pathway.
Altitude* ; Animals ; Anoxia* ; Erythropoietin ; Heart ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 ; Ileum ; Interferon-gamma ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Intestines ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Malondialdehyde ; Occludin ; Oxidoreductases ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Toll-Like Receptors ; Vitamin E* ; Vitamins*