ObjectiveTo investigate the metabolic alterations of serum short chain fatty acids （SCFAs） in pediatric patients with atopic dermatitis （AD） and their correlation with different clinical phenotypes using targeted metabolomics. MethodsThis study enrolled 87 AD patients and 67 healthy controls （HC）. Serum levels of eight SCFAs were quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The associations between SCFAs and AD were assessed using various statistical methods. ResultsCompared with the HC group， levels of acetic acid （AA）， propionic acid （PA）， and caproic acid （CA） （P=0.002，P=0.002，P=0.043） decreased in the AD group. Logistic regression analysis identified AA （OR=0.449， 95% CI： 0.289–0.698） and PA （OR = 0.487， 95% CI： 0.324–0.732） as protective factors against AD. The combination of AA and PA yielded an area under the curve （AUC） greater than 0.7， indicating good diagnostic efficacy. Age-stratified analysis revealed that AA reduction was predominant in childhood， whereas PA reduction was predominant in adolescence. Pathway enrichment analysis showed significant enrichment of fatty acid biosynthesis （FDR=0.341， P=0.003） and vitamin K metabolism （FDR=1， P=0.039） pathways. Furthermore， subgroup analyses based on disease severity， personal/family history of atopy， and sex revealed no significant differences in SCFAs levels among the groups. ConclusionDifferential serum SCFAs and their enriched metabolic pathways may be implicated in the pathogenesis of AD.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a type of RNA that is longer than 200 nucleotides and does not encode proteins. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Genetic susceptibility, damaged skin barrier and immune imbalance play important roles in its pathogenesis. Studies have shown that abnormal expression of lncRNA plays an important role in the development of many human diseases. In recent years, it has been found that various lncRNAs are abnormally expressed in AD patients and are involved in the development of AD. This paper reviews the research progress of lncRNAs in AD, aiming to provide more reference for the pathogenesis and treatment of AD.
Dermatitis, Atopic/genetics* ; Humans ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; Animals

Objective:To investigate differences in serum lipid profiles between patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and healthy controls.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data and serum samples collected from 51 patients with DM who visited the First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University from September 2020 to January 2022. Serum samples were also collected from 66 healthy controls during the same period. Serum lipid profiles were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in both groups. Differential lipids were screened using principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis. The predictive value of these differential lipids for DM was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and their correlations with clinical indicators were also evaluated.Results:A total of 51 patients with DM were enrolled, including 27 males and 24 females, with ages ( M[ Q1, Q3]) of 55.00 (47.00, 66.00) years and body mass index (BMI) values of 22.64 (19.79, 24.75) . The control group included 66 healthy individuals (33 males and 33 females) , with ages of 51.00 (43.75, 56.00) years and BMI values of 23.60 (21.18, 25.19) . No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of sex, age, or BMI (all P > 0.05) . A total of 341 lipid metabolites were identified, and 16 lipid metabolites such as ceramides (Cer) , sphingomyelins, phosphatidylcholines (PC) , phosphatidylethanolamines, lysophosphatidylcholines (LPC) , and triglycerides (TG) significantly differed between the DM group and the control group, of which 8 were upregulated and 8 were downregulated in the DM group. ROC curve analysis identified 7 differential lipids with area under the curve (AUC) values of > 0.9, of which 2 were Cer, 3 were TG, 1 was phosphatidylethanolamine, and 1 was LPC. In the DM patients, serum LPC (22∶1) levels were negatively correlated with creatine kinase isoenzyme MB levels ( r = -0.276, P < 0.05) , serum PC (15∶1/16∶0) levels were negatively correlated with aspartate aminotransferase levels ( r = -0.305, P < 0.05) , and serum Cer (d18∶1/18∶0) levels were positively correlated with C-reactive protein levels ( r = 0.283, P < 0.05) . Significant differences in serum lipid levels were observed between some DM subgroups (all P < 0.05) : sphingomyelin (d24∶0) levels significantly differed between anti-Sj?gren syndrome type A/Ro52 antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; LPC (17∶1) levels significantly differed between anti-PM-SCL75 antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; LPC (20∶0) and PC (32∶1p) levels significantly differed between anti-Mi-2 antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; LPC (22∶1) and TG (9∶0/9∶0/9∶0) levels significantly differed between anti-TIF1-γ antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; Cer (d18∶1/18∶0) levels significantly differed between DM patients with and without Heliotrope's sign. Conclusion:Lipid profiles were significantly altered in DM patients compared with healthy controls, and some lipids showed potential diagnostic value for DM.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a type of RNA that is longer than 200 nucleotides and does not encode proteins. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Genetic susceptibility, damaged skin barrier and immune imbalance play important roles in its pathogenesis. Studies have shown that abnormal expression of lncRNA plays an important role in the development of many human diseases. In recent years, it has been found that various lncRNAs are abnormally expressed in AD patients and are involved in the development of AD. This paper reviews the research progress of lncRNAs in AD, aiming to provide more reference for the pathogenesis and treatment of AD.

Objective:To investigate differences in serum lipid profiles between patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and healthy controls.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data and serum samples collected from 51 patients with DM who visited the First Affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University from September 2020 to January 2022. Serum samples were also collected from 66 healthy controls during the same period. Serum lipid profiles were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in both groups. Differential lipids were screened using principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis. The predictive value of these differential lipids for DM was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and their correlations with clinical indicators were also evaluated.Results:A total of 51 patients with DM were enrolled, including 27 males and 24 females, with ages ( M[ Q1, Q3]) of 55.00 (47.00, 66.00) years and body mass index (BMI) values of 22.64 (19.79, 24.75) . The control group included 66 healthy individuals (33 males and 33 females) , with ages of 51.00 (43.75, 56.00) years and BMI values of 23.60 (21.18, 25.19) . No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of sex, age, or BMI (all P > 0.05) . A total of 341 lipid metabolites were identified, and 16 lipid metabolites such as ceramides (Cer) , sphingomyelins, phosphatidylcholines (PC) , phosphatidylethanolamines, lysophosphatidylcholines (LPC) , and triglycerides (TG) significantly differed between the DM group and the control group, of which 8 were upregulated and 8 were downregulated in the DM group. ROC curve analysis identified 7 differential lipids with area under the curve (AUC) values of > 0.9, of which 2 were Cer, 3 were TG, 1 was phosphatidylethanolamine, and 1 was LPC. In the DM patients, serum LPC (22∶1) levels were negatively correlated with creatine kinase isoenzyme MB levels ( r = -0.276, P < 0.05) , serum PC (15∶1/16∶0) levels were negatively correlated with aspartate aminotransferase levels ( r = -0.305, P < 0.05) , and serum Cer (d18∶1/18∶0) levels were positively correlated with C-reactive protein levels ( r = 0.283, P < 0.05) . Significant differences in serum lipid levels were observed between some DM subgroups (all P < 0.05) : sphingomyelin (d24∶0) levels significantly differed between anti-Sj?gren syndrome type A/Ro52 antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; LPC (17∶1) levels significantly differed between anti-PM-SCL75 antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; LPC (20∶0) and PC (32∶1p) levels significantly differed between anti-Mi-2 antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; LPC (22∶1) and TG (9∶0/9∶0/9∶0) levels significantly differed between anti-TIF1-γ antibody-positive and -negative DM patients; Cer (d18∶1/18∶0) levels significantly differed between DM patients with and without Heliotrope's sign. Conclusion:Lipid profiles were significantly altered in DM patients compared with healthy controls, and some lipids showed potential diagnostic value for DM.

Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a type of RNA that is longer than 200 nucleotides and does not encode proteins. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease. Genetic susceptibility, damaged skin barrier and immune imbalance play important roles in its pathogenesis. Studies have shown that abnormal expression of lncRNA plays an important role in the development of many human diseases. In recent years, it has been found that various lncRNAs are abnormally expressed in AD patients and are involved in the development of AD. This paper reviews the research progress of lncRNAs in AD, aiming to provide more reference for the pathogenesis and treatment of AD.

Recent work in decision neuroscience suggests that visual saliency can interact with reward-based choice, and the lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) is implicated in this process. In this study, we recorded from LIP neurons while monkeys performed a two alternative choice task in which the reward and luminance associated with each offer were varied independently. We discovered that the animal's choice was dictated by the reward amount while the luminance had a marginal effect. In the LIP, neuronal activity corresponded well with the animal's choice pattern, in that a majority of reward-modulated neurons encoded the reward amount in the neuron's preferred hemifield with a positive slope. In contrast, compared to their responses to low luminance, an approximately equal proportion of luminance-sensitive neurons responded to high luminance with increased or decreased activity, leading to a much weaker population-level response. Meanwhile, in the non-preferred hemifield, the strength of encoding for reward amount and luminance was positively correlated, suggesting the integration of these two factors in the LIP. Moreover, neurons encoding reward and luminance were homogeneously distributed along the anterior-posterior axis of the LIP. Overall, our study provides further evidence supporting the neural instantiation of a priority map in the LIP in reward-based decisions.
Animals ; Macaca mulatta/physiology* ; Parietal Lobe ; Neurons/physiology* ; Saccades ; Reward ; Photic Stimulation

A pedigree with familial acanthosis nigricans presenting with atypical clinical symptoms was reported. The 4-year-old female proband began to develop black patches on the neck and abdomen since the age of 1 year, which had gradually spread to the lips and front of the trunk in recent years. Reflectance confocal microscopy of the abdominal skin showed downward extension and twisting of dermal papillary rings with formation of gully-like structures, and moderately to highly refractive particles in the dermal papillary rings. The proband′s father and grandmother had similar medical history, but the pigmentation spontaneously subsided with age, leaving only local thickened skin lines. Peripheral blood samples were collected from the proband, her parents and grandmother, and panel-based targeted sequencing of peripheral blood DNA was performed for the proband. Sequencing showed a missense mutation c.1949A>C (p.Lys650Thr) in exon 14 of the FGFR3 gene in the proband, and Sanger sequencing confirmed the presence of this mutation in the proband and her father and grandmother. A diagnosis of familial acanthosis nigricans was made.

Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway plays an important role in immune pathways in atopic dermatitis (AD) . Drugs that block the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, such as classic JAK inhibitors tofacitinib, ruxolitinib, etc., have been gradually applied to the treatment of AD in clinical trials, and good clinical efficacy has been achieved. In addition, other inhibitors of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, such as apamin and dupilumab, also show some efficacy in the treatment of AD. This review summarizes recent studies on the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and its inhibitors.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between caspase activation and recruitment domain 8 ( CARD8) gene rs2043211 polymorphism and the age of onset for large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) stroke in Chinese Han population. Methods:Based on Nanjing Stroke Registry Program, patients with LAA stroke from January 2010 to December 2014 were included retrospectively and genotyped. Grouping according to different genetic models, the age distribution among different genotypes were compared, and Kaplan-Meier curve was used to compare the age-related cumulative non-onset frequency of the patients with different genotypes.Results:A total of 738 patients were admitted and 717 (97.15%) were successfully genotyped and included in the study. There were no significant differences in age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, smoking and drinking history among the genotype groups. Patients with T allele had earlier onset under codominant model (AA genotype: 61.68 years, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 59.92-63.45 years; AT genotype: 60.51 years, 95% CI 59.41-61.60 years; TT genotype: 60.44 years, 95% CI 58.96-61.92 years). Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the age-related cumulative non-onset frequency between patients with different genotypes (log-rank test, P=0.041). Similar results in the female was observed in the stratified analysis (log-rank test, P=0.001). Conclusions:T allele of CARD8 rs2043211 is associated with the early age of onset of large artery atherosclerosis stroke in Chinese Han population, especially in female patients.