OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the role and underlying mechanism of ubiquitin-specific protease 35 (USP35) in ferroptosis of rheumatoid arthritis-fibroblast like synoviocytes (RA-FLS), thereby enhancing our comprehension of the pathogenesis of RA and identifying potential therapeutic targets for its treatment. METHODS: (1) RA-FLS were cultured in vitro and transduced with lentiviral vectors to establish stable cell lines: A USP35-knockdown line (short hairpin ribonucleic acid of USP35, shUSP35) and its control (negtive control of short hairpin ribonucleic acid, shNC), as well as a overexpression of USP35 line (USP35 OE) and its control (Vector). To investigate the role of USP35 in ferroptosis regulation, a ferroptosis model was induced in RA-FLS by treatment with 1 μmol/L Erastin. The cells were divided into six groups: shNC, shNC + Erastin, shUSP35 + Erastin, Vector, Vector + Erastin, and USP35 OE + Erastin. (2) Cell viability was detected using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). (3) Reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione/glutathione disulfide (GSH/GSSG) ratios, and Ferrous ion (Fe²⁺) levels were measured using specific assay kits to evaluate oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and glutathione redox status in the cells. (4) Protein expression levels of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were detected using Western blotting to investigate their potential involvement in USP35-mediated ferroptosis regulation. RESULTS: (1) Compared with the shNC +Erastin group, the cell viability of the shUSP35+Erastin group was significantly decreased (P < 0.001), while it was notably increased in the USP35 OE+Erastin group compared with the Vector+Erastin group (P < 0.001). These findings indicated that USP35 could alleviate the inhibitory effect of Erastin on RA-FLS cell viability. (2) In comparison to the shNC+Erastin group, the levels of ROS (P < 0.001), MDA (P < 0.05), and Fe²⁺ (P < 0.001) were significantly elevated, and the GSH/GSSG ratio was increased (P < 0.05) in the shUSP35+Erastin group. Conversely, the levels of ROS (P < 0.001), MDA (P < 0.05), and Fe²⁺ (P < 0.05) were significantly decreased, and the GSH/GSSG ratio was decreased (P < 0.05) in the USP35 OE+Erastin group compared with the Vector+Erastin group. These results suggested that USP35 could inhibit Erastin-induced oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in RA-FLS. (3) In Erastin-induced RA-FLS, the expression of USP35 was positively correlated with the protein levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4, indicating a potential mechanism by which USP35 regulated ferroptosis in these cells. CONCLUSION USP35 inhibits ferroptosis in RA-FLS, potentially through the increased expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4.
Ferroptosis ; Humans ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/metabolism* ; Synoviocytes/pathology* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Ubiquitin-Specific Proteases/metabolism* ; Fibroblasts/pathology* ; Cell Survival ; Piperazines/pharmacology* ; Endopeptidases/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; Cell Line ; Amino Acid Transport System y+

Background At present, the practice of pulmonary rehabilitation for pneumoconiosis in China is in a primary stage. The basis for formulating an individualized comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation plan is still insufficient, which is one of the factors limiting the development of community-level rehabilitation work. Objective To formulate an exercise prescription based on maximum heart rate measured by cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), conduct an individualized comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation program with the exercise prescription for patients with stable pneumoconiosis, and evaluate its role in improving exercise endurance and quality of life, thus provide a basis for the application and promotion of pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods A total of 68 patients were recruited from the Occupational Disease Prevention Hospital of Jinneng Holding Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd. from April to August 2022 , and were divided into an intervention group and a control group by random number table method, with 34 cases in each group. All the pneumoconiosis patients participated in a baseline test. The control group was given routine drug treatment, while the intervention group received multidisciplinary comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation treatment on the basis of routine drug treatment, including health education, breathing training, exercise training, nutrition guidance, psychological intervention, and sleep management, whose exercise intensity was determined according to the maximum heart rate provided by CPET. The rehabilitation training lasted for 24 weeks. Patients were evaluated at registration and the end of study respectively. CPET was used to measure peak oxygen uptake per kilogram (pVO₂/kg), anaerobic threshold (AT), carbon dioxide equivalent of ventilation (EqCO₂), maximum metabolic equivalent (METs), and maximum work (W_max). The modified British Medical Research Council Dyspnea Questionnaire (mMRC), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test (CAT), and Short Form of Health Survey (SF-36) were used to evaluate the potential effect of the comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation program. Results Among the included 68 patients, 63 patients were having complete data, then 31 cases were assigned in the control group and 32 cases in the interventional group. Before the intervention, there was no significant difference in pVO₂/kg, AT, EqCO₂, METs, or W_max between the two groups (P>0.05). At the end of the trail, the indicators like pVO₂/kg [(19.81±2.38) mL·(min·kg)⁻¹], AT [(14.48±2.33) mL·(min·kg)⁻¹], METs (5.64±0.69), and W_max [(85.25±14) W] of patients in the intervention group were all higher than those [(13.90±2.37) mL·(min·kg)⁻¹, (11.70±1.94) mL·(min kg)⁻¹, (3.97±0.70), and (61.77±14.72) W, respectively] in the control group (P<0.001); there was no significant difference in EqCO₂ between the two groups (P=0.083). Before the trial, there was no significant difference in mMRC, SAS, SDS, PSQI, or CAT scores between the two groups (P>0.05). At the end of the trail, the mMRC score (1.16±0.57), SAS score (27.93±2.12), SDS score (26.48±1.44), PSQI score (1.08±0.88), and CAT score (4.34±3.28) of patients in the intervention group were lower than those [(2.03±0.83), (35.87±6.91), (34.23±6.65), (5.37±3.03), and (13.87±7.53), respectively] in the control group (P<0.001). The SF-36 scores of bodily pain (94.13±10.72), general health (87.50±5.68), vitality (95.31±5.53), mental health (99.88±0.71), and health changes (74.22±4.42) in the intervention group were higher than those [(71.87±32.72), (65.81±15.55), (74.52±16.45), (86.97±16.56), and (29.84±13.50), respectively] in the control group (P<0.001), and no significant difference was found in social functioning and role emotional scores (P>0.05). Conclusion Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation can increase the oxygen intake and exercise endurance of pneumoconiosis patients, ameliorate dyspnea symptoms, elevate psychological state and sleep quality, and improve the quality of life.

Objective:To assess the efficiency of modified enrichment method for cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) through purified superparamagnetic beads during non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).Methods:A total of 26 252 pregnant women undergoing NIPT at the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Haidian District from December 2017 to September 2022 were recruited and randomly assigned into the conventional group ( n = 10 573) and the modified enrichment group ( n = 15 679), who were then subjected to the screening and enrichment of the cffDNA using a conventional and modified technique, respectively. High-risk pregnant women detected by NIPT were subjected to invasive prenatal diagnosis. All women were followed up for their pregnancy outcomes, and the detection efficacy of the two methods was compared in terms of fragment size, concentration of cffDNA, duplicate detection rate, and indices of clinical laboratory tests. Results:The fragment size of the main peak of the cell-free DNA library of the modified enrichment group was significantly lower than that of the conventional group [267 (264, 269) bp vs. 294 (292, 296) bp, P<0.01], while the concentration of cffDNA was significantly higher [21.86% (17.61%, 26.36%) vs. 9.08% (6.87%, 11.87%), P<0.01]. In addition, the duplicate detection rate (0.740% vs. 2.02%, χ2=83.90, P<0.01) and detection failure rate (0.006% vs. 0.057%, P<0.05) in the modified enrichment group were significantly lower than those of the conventional group. The combined positive predictive value (PPV) in both high-risk (64.3% vs. 76.1%) and low-risk (35.3% vs. 45.5%) pregnant women from the modified enrichment group was slightly lower than those from the conventional group, though no significant difference was detected. There was one false negative case for trisomy 21 among the high-risk pregnant women from the conventional group, and no false negative case was found in the modified enrichment group. Conclusion:The modified technique to screen and enrich the cffDNA has significantly enhanced the relative concentration of cffDNA and reduced the failure and duplication detection rate of NIPT, which has significantly reduced the incidence of false negative cases due to the low concentration of cffDNA, and greatly increased the overall detection efficacy of NIPT.

Objective:To evaluate the value of modified magnetic bead screening for enrichment of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT).Methods:This study retrospectively recruited 31 cases with low concentration of cffDNA (<6.00%), Z value in the gray zone (3.00-4.00) at the first detection, or false-positive (confirmed by invasive prenatal diagnosis) or false-negative (confirmed by postnatal chromosome test) results among 11 000 pregnant women who underwent routine NIPT in Beijing Haidian District Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from October 2017 to December 2019. Plasma samples collected for the first-time routine NIPT were used to enrich cffDNA using modified magnetic beads for NIPT (modified NIPT). Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the modified NIPT with the routine NIPT in detecting the cffDNA concentrations of male fetuses.Results:Among the 31 pregnant women, there were 13 cases with low cffDNA concentration in routine NIPT, 11 having false-positive results in the routine NIPT (three for trisomy 13, four for trisomy 18 and four for trisomy 21, all were confirmed by invasive prenatal diagnosis), six with gray-zone Z values in the first-time NIPT (retesting indicating low risk) and one having false negative result for trisomy 21 (confirmed by postnatal chromosome test). Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragments less than 150 bp were effectively enriched using the modified magnetic bead screening and the concentration of cffDNA was increased from 4.43% (2.45%-17.61%) in routine NIPT to 13.46% (7.75%-36.64%) in the modified NIPT ( Z=-14.22, P<0.01). Results of the modified NIPT indicated that 13 cases with low cffDNA concentration of routine NIPT were successfully detected as low risk, as well as the risks in the six cases with gray-zone Z value and six of the 11 false-positive cases in the routine NIPT were low, which were consistent with the retest results of the routine NIPT, while high risk was found in one false-negative case. Conclusions:The modified NIPT could reduce the false positive rate by lowering the failure rate caused by low concentration of cffDNA and is able to identify false-negative cases. Compared with the routine NIPT, it shows a higher success rate and a lower false positive rate.

Objective:To investigate the effects of Anhydroicaritin (AHI) , an isopentenylated flavo-noid compound, on proliferation, migration and apoptosis of human hepatocarcinoma cell line MHCC-97H.Methods:Human hepatocarcinoma cell line MHCC-97H and human normal liver cell line L02 were cultured in vitro. MHCC-97H cells were treated with 0, 20, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 μg/ml of AHI respectively and L02 cells were treated with 0, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 400, 500 μg/ml of AHI respectively. CCK-8 and clone formation assay were used to detect cell proliferation. Scratch test was used to explore cell migration ability. Hoechst33342 assay and flow cytometer were used to detect cell apoptosis. The expressions of apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western blotting. Results:The cell viabilities of MHCC-97H cells treated with 0, 20, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200 μg/ml of AHI for 24 h were (100.00±0.00) %, (97.41±2.10) %, (96.58±3.23) %, (87.72±4.85) %, (78.33±3.76) %, (56.97±2.61) % and (15.25±2.51) % respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference ( F=429.20, P<0.001) . There were statistically significant differences between 0 μg/ml and 80, 120, 160, 200 μg/ml of AHI treatment (all P<0.001) . The cell viabilities of L02 cells treated with 0, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 400, 500 μg/ml of AHI for 24 h were (100.00±0.00) %, (96.82±3.79) %, (95.36±3.43) %, (90.79±5.75) %, (77.67±5.66) %, (63.98±5.22) %, (34.22±4.01) % and (33.84±4.41) % respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference ( F=233.20, P<0.001) . There were statistically significant differences between 0 μg/ml and 100, 150, 200, 400, 500 μg/ml of AHI treatment (all P<0.05) . The 24 h half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50) value of AHI treated L02 cells was (300.20±17.10) μg/ml, which was significantly higher than that of MHCC-97H cells [ (158.60±5.50) μg/ml], and there was a statistically significant difference ( t=13.65, P<0.001) . The cell clone numbers of MHCC-97H cells treated with 0, 120, 160 and 200 μg/ml of AHI for 24 h were 1 993.00±46.29, 1 355.00±54.84, 998.33±21.03 and 218.33±35.95 respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference ( F=954.80, P<0.001) . There were statistically significant differences between 0 μg/ml and 120, 160, 200 μg/ml of AHI treatment (all P<0.001) . The healing rates of MHCC-97H cells treated with 0, 120, 160 and 200 μg/ml of AHI for 24 h were (51.68±1.93) %, (16.04±0.73) %, (8.88±0.31) % and (-6.94±0.46) % respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference ( F=1 616.00, P<0.001) . There were statistically significant differences between 0 μg/ml and 120, 160, 200 μg/ml of AHI treatment (all P<0.001) . Hoechst33342 experiment showed that MHCC-97H cells treated with 0 μg/ml AHI showed uniform dark blue with a complete nuclear state under inverted microscope. Compared with 0 μg/ml AHI treated cells, cells in the 120, 160, 200 μg/ml AHI treatment groups wrinkled and broken, and nuclei were also morphologically abnormal, with some nuclei stained bright blue, and the situation became more obvious with increasing dose. The apoptosis rates of MHCC-97H cells treated with 0, 120, 160 and 200 μg/ml AHI for 24 h were (10.51±0.56) %, (42.23±0.87) %, (61.92±0.52) % and (72.05±0.74) % respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference ( F=4 677.00, P<0.001) . There were statistically significant differences between 0 μg/ml and 120, 160, 200 μg/ml of AHI treatment (all P<0.001) . There were statistically significant differences among the different expression levels of Bax, Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3, Cleaved Caspase-9/Caspase-9, and Bcl-2 proteins in MHCC-97H cells of 0, 120, 160, and 200 μg/ml of AHI treatment ( F=30.43, P<0.001; F=212.80, P<0.001; F=475.30, P<0.001; F=10.75, P=0.004) . The Bax protein expression of 160 and 200 μg/ml was significantly increased than that of 0 μg/ml AHI (both P<0.001) . The Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3, Cleaved Caspase-9/Caspase-9 protein expressions of 120, 160 and 200 μg/ml were significantly increased than those of 0 μg/ml AHI (all P<0.001) . The Bcl-2 protein expression of 120, 160, 200 μg/ml was significantly decreased compared with that of 0 μg/ml AHI (all P<0.05) . Conclusion:AHI can inhibit the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cell line MHCC-97H, and promote its apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: Intensive phototherapy (IPT) and exchange transfusion (ET) are the main treatments for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. However, there is no reliable evidence on determining the thresholds for these treatments. This multicenter study compared the effectiveness and complications of IPT and ET in the treatment of extreme hyperbilirubinemia. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in seven centers from January 2015 to January 2018. Patients with extreme hyperbilirubinemia that met the criteria of ET were included. Patients were divided into three subgroups (low-, medium-, and high- risk) according to gestational week and risk factors. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the data before treatment. Study outcomes included the development of bilirubin encephalopathy, duration of hospitalization, expenses, and complications. Mortality, auditory complications, seizures, enamel dysplasia, ocular motility disorders, athetosis, motor, and language development were evaluated during follow-up at age of 3 years. RESULTS: A total of 1164 patients were included in this study. After PSM, 296 patients in the IPT only group and 296 patients in the IPT plus ET group were further divided into the low-, medium-, and high-risk subgroups with 188, 364, and 40 matched patients, respectively. No significant differences were found between the IPT only and IPT plus ET groups in terms of morbidity, complications, and sequelae. Hospitalization duration and expenses were lower in the low- and medium-risk subgroups in the IPT only group. CONCLUSIONS In this study, our results suggest that IPT is a safe and effective treatment for extreme hyperbilirubinemia. The indication of ET for patients with hyperbilirubinemia could be stricter. However, it is necessary to have a contingency plan for emergency ET as soon as IPT is commenced especially for infants with risk factors. If IPT can be guaranteed and proved to be therapeutic, ET should be avoided as much as possible.
Child, Preschool ; Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal/therapy* ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Kernicterus/therapy* ; Phototherapy/methods* ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: To screen for hotspot gene mutations associated with genetic deafness in Chinese pregnant women, and to perform risk assessment and prenatal diagnosis in high-risk families. Methods: Between November 2012 and October 2017, 26 117 pregnant women were screened by molecular hybridization microarray for 9 hot-spot mutations in 4 hereditary deafness related genes (GJB2 c. 35 del G, c. 176_191 del 16 bp, c. 235 del G, c. 299_300 del AT, GJB3 c. 538 C>T, SLC26A4 c. 2168 A>G, IVS 7-2 A>G, mitochondrial DNA 12S rRNA m. 1494 C>T, m. 1555 A>G). Genotype analysis was carried out in husbands of women carrying mutations, and prenatal diagnosis was carried out in the fetuses with high risk of deafness. Results: Among all women tested, 1 208(4.63%) were carriers of genetic deafness mutations, 7 with hearing impairment were affected by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations, 51 were mitochondrial gene mutation carriers, 103 were carriers of GJB3 c. 538 C>T heterozygous mutation, 1 026 were carriers of GJB2 or SLC26A4 heterozygous mutations, and 21 carried heterozygous mutations in two genes simultaneously. In 394 families, the husbands accepted gene sequence testing, and 27 in which were determined as carriers of mutations in identical genes as their wives. Among which, 18 families received prenatal diagnosis, and 5 fetuses were diagnosed as hereditary deafness. In 9 families who did not receive prenatal diagnosis, 1 neonate was diagnosed as compound heterozygote after delivery. Conclusion In order to prevent birth defects with congenital hearing problems, it is effective to provide screening for hotspot mutations in pregnant women and to perform prenatal diagnosis on high risk pregnancies.

Objective To investigate the value of copy number variation analysis based on next-generation sequencing (NGS-CNVA) in the genetic analysis of missed abortion chorionic villi. Methods From August 2012 to May 2014, chorionic villi from 74 cases of missed abortion at 6-13 gestational weeks in Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital were collected and analyzed by karyotype analysis and NGS-CNVA. The results of the two methods were compared. Results (1) Karyotype analysis was carried out for the villi from the 74 missed abortion patients. Thirty cases were euploid, 26 cases were aneuploid, while 18 cases had structural abnormalities. The resolution of the karyotyping was 320 bands and the average report time was 22 days. (2) All of the 74 samples obtained NGS-CNVA results and the report time was 7-10 days. (3) The NGS-CNVA results of 56 cases were consistent with karyotype. Among them, 28 cases (28/56, 50%) had no copy number variants (CNV), and 19 cases (19/56, 34%)had CNV between 1 Mb and 10 Mb. 9 cases (9/56,16%) had CNV≥10 Mb found by NGS-CNVA, but not found by karyotyping. (4) According to the results of NGS-CNVA, karyotype were reviewed. The reviewed results found 7 cases with CNV<10 Mb and 3 cases with CNV≥10 Mb in 30 cases which got normal karyotype results at the first analysis. (5) Among the 18 cases of structural abnormalities, 6 cases were Robertsonian translocation. Sequencing technology could confirm the specific area of chromosome deletion/duplication in 8 cases, but could not locate them. Conclusions NGS-CNVA has lower failure rate, higher resolution, lower specimen requirement and shorter report time than karyotype analysis when used for the genetic analysis of missed chorionic villi . NGS-CNVA could be a useful genetic analysis method for the missed abortion villi.

Objective To carry out a molecular screening of Chinese common deafness gene mutations in Chinese pregnant women group,so as to expatiate on the content,provide molecular epidemiological data,reduce the birth rate and provide a theoretical basis to the deaf children. Methods The molecular detection was done to the pregnant women underwent normal antenatal care in our hospital,using gene chips to screen the four com?mon deaf genes(GJB2,GJB3,SLC26A4 and mitochondrial 12S rRNA)in China;then,the newborn infants carrying mutations were treated with the hearing screening,using the methods of Otoacoustic Emissions(OAE)and Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials(BAEP),and the husbands of mutation carrying pregnant women were adopted molecular testing of the deaf susceptibility genes in order to investigate the correlation of the rate of pregnant women carrying the mutant genes and newborn infants deafness. Results Totally 2 067 cases of pregnant women were accepted to do the molecular screening,there were 110 cases of deafness mutations detected(5.320%),in which GJB2 gene(67 cases),GJB3 gene(6 cases), SLC26A4gene(33 cases),mitochondrial 12SrRNAgene(4 cases)mutation detection rates were 3.240%,0.290%,1.600%and 0.190%,respec?tively;especially:GJB2gene 235 del C,GJB2gene 299 del AT double mutant 1 case;GJB2gene 299 del AT,GJB3gene 538 C>T double mutant 1 case;GJB2 gene 235 del C,SLC26A4 gene IVS7?2 A>G double mutant 1 case. About 108 cases children newborn accepted to do the hearing screening,in which 3 cases had problems with the left ear,3 cases with the right ear,and 4 cases with the double ears. Conclusion The use of ge?netic deafness gene chip to do the molecular diagnostics in pregnant women can be convenient,fast and efficient for prenatal diagnosis of deafness, which provides a theoretical basis and good method for reducing the birth rate of deaf children and should be popularized more widely.

OBJECTIVETo apply single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray for delineation of small supernumerary marker chromosome (sSMC) in two newborns.

METHODChromosome karyotyping was performed on newborns who were born in Jan. 2013 and Jan. 2014 in Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital because of the abnormalities found in pregnancy checkups. SNP microarray analysis was carried out on 2 newborns with de novo sSMCs (one was mos 47,XY, + mar[45]/46,XY[5] and the other was mos 47, XY, + mar [30]/46, XY [20]), which could not be determined by conventional banding techniques. Genomic DNA was extracted from cord blood samples, amplified, tagged and hybridized following the manufacturer' s protocol. Data were collected and analyzed.

RESULTThere was a 78. 6 Mb duplication in chromosome 8 for Newborn A, which was associated with 8p22 duplication syndrome; and a 32. 7 Mb duplication in chromosome 13 for Newborn B, which was not yet reported definitely as pathogenic. The newborn A was identified with agenesis of the corpus callosum, obvious right eyelid drooping, the onset of low muscle tone and mental developmental lag behind their peers, while the newborn B had normal findings on physical and mental evaluation.

CONCLUSIONSNP-array can identify sSMCs of newborns at the DNA level, and can be used as an important supplement to the conventional karyotype analysis, but the pathogenicity of positive outputs need further verification.