OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the differential expression of RNA in blood monocytes in patients with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treated with TNF antagonists (TNFi), and to explore the effect and mechanism of gene expression on the efficacy of JIA. METHODS: A total of 29 children with JIA treated with methotrexate (MTX) and TNFi in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University from April 2021 to November 2023 were enrolled. After 6 months, the children were divided into two groups according to the treatment effect, i.e., 13 cases in the ineffective group and 16 cases in the effective group, the peripheral blood of the children was collected, the blood mononuclear cells were isolated for transcriptome sequencing, the differentially expressed genes between the groups were analyzed, the signaling pathways and metabolic pathways related to the efficacy of TNFi were analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment, and the mechanism related to the efficacy of TNFi was explored. This study was approved by Medical Ethics Committee of the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University (Ethics No.: 2023-330B00). RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in the gender and age distribution between the two groups of children (P < 0.05), while no statistically significant differences were observed in disease duration, rheumatoid antibody levels, or JIA subtypes (P > 0.05). After sequencing data quality control and comparison of reference genomes, a total of 18 523 protein-coding genes were identified in all children's samples. A total of 705 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the effective group and the invalid group through differential analysis, of which 579 were up-regulated in the effective group and 126 in the inactive group. GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEG was significantly enriched in 55 GO entries and 32 KEGG metabolic pathways, which were mainly related to IL-1β production and regulation, cytokine production and regulation, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, immune response regulation, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. CONCLUSION DEG between the effective and ineffective groups of TNFi treatment may be involved in the biological processes such as cytokine production and regulation, cytokine-receptor interaction, and immune response regulation, which will be helpful to predict the efficacy and prognosis of TNFi treatment for JIA.
Humans ; Arthritis, Juvenile/blood* ; Female ; Male ; Child ; Methotrexate/therapeutic use* ; Child, Preschool ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Transcriptome ; Adolescent ; RNA/genetics* ; Signal Transduction ; Gene Expression Profiling

Objective:To evaluate the differential expression of RNA in blood monocytes in patients with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treated with TNF antagonists (TNFi), and to explore the effect and mechanism of gene expression on the efficacy of JIA.Methods:A total of 29 children with JIA treated with methotrexate (MTX) and TNFi in Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University from April 2021 to November 2023 were enrolled. After 6 months, the children were divided into two groups according to the treatment effect, 13 cases in the ineffective group and 16 cases in the effective group, the peripheral blood of the children was collected, the blood mononuclear cells were isolated for transcriptome sequencing, the differentially expressed genes between the groups were analyzed, the signaling pathways and metabolic pathways related to the efficacy of TNFi were analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment, and the mechanism related to the efficacy of TNFi was explored. This study was approved by Medical Ethics Committee of the Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University (Ethics No.: 2023-330B00).Results:There was a statistically significant difference in the gender and age distribution between the two groups of children ( P<0.05), while no statistically significant differences were observed in disease duration, rheumatoid antibody levels, or JIA subtypes ( P> 0.05). After sequencing data quality control and comparison of reference genomes, a total of 18 523 protein-coding genes were identified in all children′s samples. A total of 705 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the effective group and the invalid group through differential analysis, of which 579 were up-regulated in the effective group and 126 in the inactive group. GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEG was significantly enriched in 55 GO entries and 32 KEGG metabolic pathways, which were mainly related to IL-1β; production and regulation, cytokine production and regulation, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, immune response regulation, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Conclusion:DEG between the effective and ineffective groups of TNFi treatment may be involved in the biological processes such as cytokine production and regulation, cytokine-receptor interaction, and immune response regulation, which will be helpful to predict the efficacy and prognosis of TNFi treatment for JIA.

Purpose To summarize the MRI characteristics of patients with spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma,so as to strengthen the awareness to this disease,and to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment ability.Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on five patients with spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma diagnosed and treated in Qingdao Chengyang District People's Hospital from January 2021 to December 2023.Plain MRI and enhanced MRI were performed 6-24 hours after onset,and the imaging characteristics were analyzed.Combined with the dynamic American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA)grading score and disease progression,three patients were treated with surgery and two patients with conservative treatment.Results All patients were followed up for 6-15 months.Among the five patients,the hematoma was distributed at the cervicothoracic junction in two cases,the upper thoracic segment in one case and the thoracolumbar segment in two cases;covering 3-6 segments in two cases,2-3 segments in two cases and 1 segment in one case;hematoma was located at the ventral side of the dural sac in two cases,and the dorsal side of the dural sac in three cases.Postoperative pathology showed that one case was simple blood clot,and two cases were blood clot with a large number of neutrophil infiltration.One case was hyperacute phase with isointensity on T1WI and high signal on T2WI,three cases were acute phase with isointensity on T1WI and low signal on T2WI,and one case was subacute phase with high signal on T1WI and low signal on T2WI.Enhanced scanning showed that one case was uneven enhancement,one case was irregular edge enhancement and three cases had no obvious enhancement.ASIA grade of two cases returned to E,one case returned to C after surgery,and lower limb muscle strength of two cases returned to E after conservative treatment,and MRI reexamination showed that the hematoma was absorbed.Conclusion MRI has strong sensitivity for the lesions of patients with spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma,which can accurately show the location and size of the hematoma,help to distinguish the progression of the disease,and has great significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Frailty is a complex aging syndrome characterized by diminished strength and physiological dysfunction.Early diagnosis of frailty is of great value in helping the elderly to improve the quality of life.However,specific bio-logical markers to diagnose frailty are still lacking.In recent years,moderate protein intake has been shown to be an effective intervention in the management of frailty in older adults,and the relationship between frailty and amino acid metabolism has received widespread attention.This review discusses recent advances in the study of the mecha-nisms by which amino acid metabolism affects frailty and provide new ideas for searching specific biomarkers of frailty.

Purpose To summarize the MRI characteristics of patients with spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma,so as to strengthen the awareness to this disease,and to improve the clinical diagnosis and treatment ability.Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on five patients with spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma diagnosed and treated in Qingdao Chengyang District People's Hospital from January 2021 to December 2023.Plain MRI and enhanced MRI were performed 6-24 hours after onset,and the imaging characteristics were analyzed.Combined with the dynamic American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA)grading score and disease progression,three patients were treated with surgery and two patients with conservative treatment.Results All patients were followed up for 6-15 months.Among the five patients,the hematoma was distributed at the cervicothoracic junction in two cases,the upper thoracic segment in one case and the thoracolumbar segment in two cases;covering 3-6 segments in two cases,2-3 segments in two cases and 1 segment in one case;hematoma was located at the ventral side of the dural sac in two cases,and the dorsal side of the dural sac in three cases.Postoperative pathology showed that one case was simple blood clot,and two cases were blood clot with a large number of neutrophil infiltration.One case was hyperacute phase with isointensity on T1WI and high signal on T2WI,three cases were acute phase with isointensity on T1WI and low signal on T2WI,and one case was subacute phase with high signal on T1WI and low signal on T2WI.Enhanced scanning showed that one case was uneven enhancement,one case was irregular edge enhancement and three cases had no obvious enhancement.ASIA grade of two cases returned to E,one case returned to C after surgery,and lower limb muscle strength of two cases returned to E after conservative treatment,and MRI reexamination showed that the hematoma was absorbed.Conclusion MRI has strong sensitivity for the lesions of patients with spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma,which can accurately show the location and size of the hematoma,help to distinguish the progression of the disease,and has great significance for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To evaluate the differential expression of RNA in blood monocytes in patients with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treated with TNF antagonists (TNFi), and to explore the effect and mechanism of gene expression on the efficacy of JIA.Methods:A total of 29 children with JIA treated with methotrexate (MTX) and TNFi in Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University from April 2021 to November 2023 were enrolled. After 6 months, the children were divided into two groups according to the treatment effect, 13 cases in the ineffective group and 16 cases in the effective group, the peripheral blood of the children was collected, the blood mononuclear cells were isolated for transcriptome sequencing, the differentially expressed genes between the groups were analyzed, the signaling pathways and metabolic pathways related to the efficacy of TNFi were analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment, and the mechanism related to the efficacy of TNFi was explored. This study was approved by Medical Ethics Committee of the Guangzhou Women and Children′s Medical Center of Guangzhou Medical University (Ethics No.: 2023-330B00).Results:There was a statistically significant difference in the gender and age distribution between the two groups of children ( P<0.05), while no statistically significant differences were observed in disease duration, rheumatoid antibody levels, or JIA subtypes ( P> 0.05). After sequencing data quality control and comparison of reference genomes, a total of 18 523 protein-coding genes were identified in all children′s samples. A total of 705 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the effective group and the invalid group through differential analysis, of which 579 were up-regulated in the effective group and 126 in the inactive group. GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEG was significantly enriched in 55 GO entries and 32 KEGG metabolic pathways, which were mainly related to IL-1β; production and regulation, cytokine production and regulation, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, immune response regulation, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Conclusion:DEG between the effective and ineffective groups of TNFi treatment may be involved in the biological processes such as cytokine production and regulation, cytokine-receptor interaction, and immune response regulation, which will be helpful to predict the efficacy and prognosis of TNFi treatment for JIA.

Objective:Artificial intelligence-assisted esophageal cytology was used to develop and validate a risk prediction model for screening esophageal precancerous lesions.Methods:This study was a secondary analysis of data from the esophageal cancer screening trial (EAST). A total of 17 294 subjects were included who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and artificial intelligence-assisted esophageal cytology screening at 39 tertiary or secondary hospitals and 5 community service centers in areas with high incidence of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in China from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Subjects ( n=14 415) screened in the hospital constituted the hospital opportunistic screening cohort, which served as the training set. An artificial intelligence-assisted esophageal cytological risk prediction model (LightGBM model for short) was developed based on light-gradient boosting machine (LightGBM) machine learning algorithm. Subjects undergoing screening at 5 community health service centers ( n=2 879) constituted a community screening cohort, which served as a validation set. The diagnostic efficacy of LightGBM model for esophageal precancerous lesions in the community screening cohort was evaluated by using pathological results of endoscopic biopsy as the golden standard. Results:The LightGBM model, trained in the opportunistic screening cohort, exhibited an area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91-0.95) for detecting precancerous lesions. The cutoff value of the ROC curve was determined as 0.08 based on the maximum Youden index. The sensitivity and specificity of LightGBM model were 91.0% (95% CI: 86.9%-95.1%) and 86.2% (95% CI: 85.7%-86.8%), respectively, when the risk prediction score was >0.08 as the screening criterion for precancerous lesions. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of LightGBM model for precancerous lesions in the community screening cohort were 95.2% (20/21), 87.5% (2 502/2 858), and 87.6% (2 522/2 879), respectively. Conclusion:The artificial intelligence-assisted esophageal cytology risk prediction model showcased remarkable sensitivity and specificity in screening for esophageal precancerous lesions, underscoring its potential for widespread adoption and application in esophageal cancer screening.

Objective To explore the effects of anticoagulation treatment to postoperative bleeding events in liver cirrhosis patients with gastric varices and portal vein thrombosis.Methods Patients diagnosed with portal vein thrombosis and treated with endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection at Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University due to gastric variceal bleeding from January 2023 to December 2023 were included.Clinical data of patients were collected,and patients were divided into anticoagulant group and non-anticoagulant group based on whether anticoagulant treatment was performed within 48 h after treatment.Re-bleeding in patients was evaluated in 6 weeks of follow-up.Cox regression was used for univariate and multivariate analysis of re-bleeding within 6 weeks after treatment.Results A total of 160 patients were included,of whom 65 patients received anticoagulation treatment within 48 h after endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection.There were no statistically significant differences in gender,etiology of liver cirrhosis,dosage of cyanoacrylate and sclerosing agents,and Child-Pugh grading between the two groups.There was no statistically significant difference in re-bleeding rate within 6 weeks after treatment between the two groups(1.54％vs 1.05％,P=0.795).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the large amount of cyanoacrylate was a risk factor for re-bleeding within 6 weeks after endoscopic treatment(HR=5.862,P=0.015).Conclusions For patients with liver cirrhosis,gastric varices,and portal vein thrombosis,who receive endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection,early anticoagulation does not increase the risk of re-bleeding after treatment,while a large amount of cyanoacrylate injection may be a risk factor for re-bleeding.However,sample should be increased to verify.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role and mechanism of microRNA-125b (miR-125b) in downregulating ion channel-related protein expression in a cardiac hypertrophy model.METHODS① In vivo:Lentiviral vectors for miR-125b overexpression and knockdown were constructed,and male C57BL/6 mice were divided into the following groups:sham group (thoracotomy without virus injection),LV-miR-125b group (mmu-miR-125b mimic),LV-miR-125b-inhibitor group (mmu-miR-125b-inhibitor),and negative control group (LV-NC).The mice were raised under normal conditions for 4 weeks.The ultrastructural changes in myocardium tissue sections of LV-miR-125b mice were observed using trans-mission electron microscopy.The cardiac hypertrophy model in mice was established using thoracic aortic constriction (TAC).Echocardiography was performed to measure ejection fraction (EF) and frac-tional shortening (FS),and the ratio of heart weight to body weight (HW/BW),ratio of heart weight to tibia length (HW/TL),as well as the expression level of the myocardial hypertrophy marker β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) were calculated to evaluate the success of the TAC-induced hypertrophy model.Subse-quently,C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups:Sham group,TAC model group,LV-miR-125b-inhibitor+TAC group,and LV-NC+TAC group.Protein expression levels of cardiac sodium channel (Nav1.5) and calcium channel (Cav1.2) were detected using Western blotting.RT-qPCR was performed to assess the levels of miR-125b and mRNA expression of myocardial hypertrophy markers,including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP),brain natriuretic peptide (BNP),and β-MHC.② In vitro:Primary cultured neonatal Kunming mouse cardiomyocytes were divided into four groups:cell control group (no treatment),miR-125b overexpression group,miR-125b-inhibitor group,and negative control group (NC).RT-qPCR was used to detect the levels of miR-125b,ANP,BNP,and β-MHC.Western blotting and immunofluorescence were performed to assess the expression levels of Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 in the cardiomyocytes.Luciferase reporter gene assay was used to evaluate the direct effect of miR-125b on the target proteins Nav1.5 and Cav1.2.RESULTS ① In vivo:Compared to the Sham group,the TAC model mice showed significantly increased the ratio of heart weight to body weight (HW/BW),the ratio of heart weight to tibia length (HW/TL),and expression levels of the myocardial hypertrophy marker β-MHC (P＜0.05),indicating the successful establishment of the TAC model.Furthermore,miR-125b expression was significantly elevated in the TAC model group (P＜0.01).In the LV-miR-125b group,compared to the LV-NC group,the expression levels of myocardial hypertrophy markers ANP,BNP,and β-MHC were significantly increased (P＜0.01),while the ejection fraction (EF) and fractional short-ening (FS) values of the mice were significantly reduced (P＜0.01).Additionally,Additionally,myocardium ultrastructure of LV-miR-125b group was damaged.Compared to the LV-NC+TAC group,the LV-miR-125b-inhibitor+TAC group showed a significant increase in ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) values (P＜0.05).Additionally,the levels of Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 in myocardium tissue were signifi-cantly elevated in the LV-miR-125b-inhibitor+TAC group compared to the LV-NC+TAC group (P＜0.05).② In vitro:Compared to the NC group,the miR-125b overexpression group showed a significant increase in miR-125b expression (P＜0.01),as well as elevated levels of ANP,BNP,and β-MHC (P＜0.01).However,miR-125b-inhibitor significantly reversed the increases in ANP,BNP,and β-MHC (P＜0.01).Western blotting and immunofluorescence results showed that,compared to the NC group,the miR-125b mimic group exhibited significantly decreased levels of Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 (P＜0.01),while miR-125b-inhibitor led to an increase in the levels of both Nav1.5 and Cav1.2.Luciferase assay results demon-strated that miR-125b directly binds to the ion channel proteins Nav1.5 and Cav1.2,encoded by the SCN5A and CACNA1C genes.CONCLUSION miR-125b promotes the development of cardiac hyper-trophy by inhibiting the voltage-gated ion channel proteins Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 Inhibition of miR-125b expression improves cardiac hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the role and mechanism of microRNA-125b (miR-125b) in downregulating ion channel-related protein expression in a cardiac hypertrophy model.METHODS① In vivo:Lentiviral vectors for miR-125b overexpression and knockdown were constructed,and male C57BL/6 mice were divided into the following groups:sham group (thoracotomy without virus injection),LV-miR-125b group (mmu-miR-125b mimic),LV-miR-125b-inhibitor group (mmu-miR-125b-inhibitor),and negative control group (LV-NC).The mice were raised under normal conditions for 4 weeks.The ultrastructural changes in myocardium tissue sections of LV-miR-125b mice were observed using trans-mission electron microscopy.The cardiac hypertrophy model in mice was established using thoracic aortic constriction (TAC).Echocardiography was performed to measure ejection fraction (EF) and frac-tional shortening (FS),and the ratio of heart weight to body weight (HW/BW),ratio of heart weight to tibia length (HW/TL),as well as the expression level of the myocardial hypertrophy marker β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) were calculated to evaluate the success of the TAC-induced hypertrophy model.Subse-quently,C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups:Sham group,TAC model group,LV-miR-125b-inhibitor+TAC group,and LV-NC+TAC group.Protein expression levels of cardiac sodium channel (Nav1.5) and calcium channel (Cav1.2) were detected using Western blotting.RT-qPCR was performed to assess the levels of miR-125b and mRNA expression of myocardial hypertrophy markers,including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP),brain natriuretic peptide (BNP),and β-MHC.② In vitro:Primary cultured neonatal Kunming mouse cardiomyocytes were divided into four groups:cell control group (no treatment),miR-125b overexpression group,miR-125b-inhibitor group,and negative control group (NC).RT-qPCR was used to detect the levels of miR-125b,ANP,BNP,and β-MHC.Western blotting and immunofluorescence were performed to assess the expression levels of Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 in the cardiomyocytes.Luciferase reporter gene assay was used to evaluate the direct effect of miR-125b on the target proteins Nav1.5 and Cav1.2.RESULTS ① In vivo:Compared to the Sham group,the TAC model mice showed significantly increased the ratio of heart weight to body weight (HW/BW),the ratio of heart weight to tibia length (HW/TL),and expression levels of the myocardial hypertrophy marker β-MHC (P＜0.05),indicating the successful establishment of the TAC model.Furthermore,miR-125b expression was significantly elevated in the TAC model group (P＜0.01).In the LV-miR-125b group,compared to the LV-NC group,the expression levels of myocardial hypertrophy markers ANP,BNP,and β-MHC were significantly increased (P＜0.01),while the ejection fraction (EF) and fractional short-ening (FS) values of the mice were significantly reduced (P＜0.01).Additionally,Additionally,myocardium ultrastructure of LV-miR-125b group was damaged.Compared to the LV-NC+TAC group,the LV-miR-125b-inhibitor+TAC group showed a significant increase in ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) values (P＜0.05).Additionally,the levels of Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 in myocardium tissue were signifi-cantly elevated in the LV-miR-125b-inhibitor+TAC group compared to the LV-NC+TAC group (P＜0.05).② In vitro:Compared to the NC group,the miR-125b overexpression group showed a significant increase in miR-125b expression (P＜0.01),as well as elevated levels of ANP,BNP,and β-MHC (P＜0.01).However,miR-125b-inhibitor significantly reversed the increases in ANP,BNP,and β-MHC (P＜0.01).Western blotting and immunofluorescence results showed that,compared to the NC group,the miR-125b mimic group exhibited significantly decreased levels of Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 (P＜0.01),while miR-125b-inhibitor led to an increase in the levels of both Nav1.5 and Cav1.2.Luciferase assay results demon-strated that miR-125b directly binds to the ion channel proteins Nav1.5 and Cav1.2,encoded by the SCN5A and CACNA1C genes.CONCLUSION miR-125b promotes the development of cardiac hyper-trophy by inhibiting the voltage-gated ion channel proteins Nav1.5 and Cav1.2 Inhibition of miR-125b expression improves cardiac hypertrophy.